


Quinn Fabray: A Cheerleader's Heartbreaking Journey

by luvtheheaven



Category: Glee
Genre: Christian Character, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas Tree, F/M, Gen, Hanukkah, Jewish Character, Judaism, Multi, Season/Series 01, Teen Pregnancy, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Dinner
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-08-09
Updated: 2013-11-14
Packaged: 2018-01-17 23:52:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 97,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1407283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luvtheheaven/pseuds/luvtheheaven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Season 1 only, covers the span of the entire season. Takes the canon and fills in all the blanks - scenes in between the scenes we saw on the show, thoughts, etc. Plenty of Finn/Quinn, Puck/Quinn, friendships, etc. It is taking me forever to complete this story, but I do plan to finish it. First chapter was posted in August 2011 on Fanfiction.net.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Quinn Felt Fat That Day

**Author's Note:**

> This was not my first fic ever, but it was my first time ever attempting to write something in the Glee fandom. The fic is about my favorite character on the show, Quinn, but it also is about everyone she interacts with and it has given me a chance to really explore writing a lot for Finn, Puck, Carole, Terri, Rachel, Will, etc. as characters as well.
> 
> Special thanks go to fanfiction.net's klaineisforeverstrong, The Imperfectionist, and Waiting To Be Broken for all being my betas for the first 5 chapters of fic! They were beyond helpful back in August 2011 when I was first posting this, and this first chapter of the fic is so much more than it was when I wrote my first draft. We went through it many times and it should be fairly flawless now at least in terms of grammar and spelling. If there's something we all missed though, like a typo or whatever, let me know! If so I'll fix it now. 
> 
> I plan for this fic to cover the span of season 1 and be as canon as possible while writing about moments and scenes that completely did not happen on the show. It will be written chronologically, so this first chapter starts off from before the show actually started, sometime before the pilot (and this first chapter includes the 1x22 flashback scene).
> 
> In 1x10 "Ballad" information about Quinn's family is established, however I thought her sister was never named (see the notes at the end of chapter 1) or given an exact age, so I'm making those details up now myself. The fact that she has an older sister who is married now is canon, though.
> 
>  
> 
> Oh and the canon established about Quinn's real name being "Lucy" and her getting a nose job and losing a million pounds in 2x18 "Born this Way" - I'd like to forget that was established in season 2 please. Please pretend that episode didn't happen. I am going to pretend she was never really that fat nor was she ever called Lucy. I hope no one minds too much.
> 
>  
> 
> Also apparently Quinn was old enough to drive in 1x04 "Preggers" so I'm going to assume she was 16 and an old-for-her age Sophomore, just for the sake of argument, since her actual age isn't exactly established on the show as far as I know. 
> 
>  
> 
> I, personally, do ship Quinn/Puck, and this first chapter establishes how they got to the point of having sex and accidentally conceiving a child, but the first chapter also deals with some cute Finn/Quinn stuff as well. There will also be friendships and platonic relationships throughout the fic, and hopefully regardless of your shipping preferences, you will enjoy the fic as a whole.
> 
> Please enjoy and again, please don't forget to review! It always means the world to me when I get a review. ;)

Quinn's sister Gabrielle was five years older than her, and Quinn's parents always were comparing her to her sister. Gabrielle always got straight A's, so when Quinn got a B+ in fourth grade, Judy and Russell commented on how Gabrielle had never gotten one of those. Gabrielle was crowned princess of the Chastity Ball when she was sixteen, so Quinn was determined to be princess as well when she got to be that age and attend the traditional dance with her father. Quinn wanted her dad to remember both of his daughters as princesses and be proud of both of them, not just Gabi. Russell commented on how strikingly thin his eldest daughter looked and how beautiful she was. As a result, the younger one made an effort to lose some weight and have an equally perfect figure as well. When Gabrielle was accepted into college on a field hockey scholarship, Quinn decided to join her middle school's cheerleading squad and try her hardest to become the captain as soon as she got to the high school team. When Gabrielle announced at her twentieth birthday party that she was engaged to a wonderful Christian man, Quinn saw the looks of pride on her parents' faces and made it her mission to find a boyfriend of whom they would be equally proud.

Quinn always thought that the best way to succeed in life was to be pretty, smart, and popular, because that's what her parents encouraged and because her sister had achieved all three. Gabrielle had left Lima for college and marriage and she appeared to be truly happy, therefore Quinn was determined to get out of Lima as soon as she left high school too. Life had to be more than school and this town. She had no close friends- no one she really saw outside of school. She always felt like she should be happier and her life should be more than church, classes, and extracurricular activities. She strove to be the best at everything, and even more important to her was for everyone around her to appreciate it. Maybe it didn't matter if she was truly happy, as long as everyone else saw how perfect she was. Maybe that would be her key to achieving a successful life with the perfect husband, just like her sister.

Finn was the quarterback on the football team, and Quinn knew her dad was a quarterback when he was in high school. Quinn made it her mission to win over Finn. It proved to be fairly easy. No one else was really fighting for him. She didn't really think about which boy in school she'd actually want to date because she was too focused on appearances and what her sister and her parents would think. She asked Finn to pick her up at her house for their first date, and her parents intimidated him a bit but ultimately she felt Finn had gotten the desired reaction. At the end of the night, Finn had kissed her. They had gotten out of Finn's pick-up truck and he was walking her back to her house, but then they paused under the porch light. He had to bend down a lot but then his slightly chapped lips touched hers. It was her first kiss, and it was pretty obviously Finn's first kiss too. He didn't know where to put his hands or how long to kiss her for, but regardless, for a brief moment she forgot about being popular, getting into college, competing with her older sister, and making her parents proud. It felt nice and he was so sweet and respectful. She was even falling for Finn a bit. He had been trying so hard to be chivalrous the entire evening. Sure he was a bit awkward trying to always hold chairs out and doors open for her but then forgetting to let go, and he couldn't even pronounce the name of the dish he'd ordered properly, but she couldn't help but find it sort of endearing. It was cute and she felt somewhat honored that he was doing it all for her.

They went on a few more dates, kissed a few more times, started holding hands in school and really acting like boyfriend and girlfriend. Quinn met Finn's mom and Carole was so nice to her. Everything with Finn was perfect, they had a somewhat boring but happy and sweet relationship. Over the summer between their freshman and sophomore years of high school, they would go over to each other's houses a lot and mainly just make out. Finn would sometimes gently try to touch her boobs or smoothly slide to her butt, hoping she might not even notice. He was respectful enough about it yet she'd always push him away, but not because she wanted to. A part of her was really tempted to go further than they ever did. She knew she couldn't have sex until she was married, but it didn't mean she really wanted to wait. She never admitted this much to Finn though and all he knew was that they couldn't have sex because of her religion. Finn wasn't very religious himself and didn't quite understand why Jesus would care.

Their sophomore year started, and Homecoming was coming up. Finn and Quinn both spent a lot of time practicing for the big game and – in Quinn's case - the pep rally, leaving the two with less time to see each other. Quinn also had to buy a dress for her first high school dance. Gabrielle came home one weekend to help her pick one out, despite being married and busy now. She took her little sister to the mall and Quinn tried on a bunch of dresses. They went to relatively expensive stores in the mall: Lord & Taylor, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdale's – they didn't really have to worry about money or anything, as their father made plenty of money. Quinn remembered how _perfect_ Gabi had looked in her hot pink dress the night of her first high school dance, and the photos from that night were still in a photo album in the living room. Quinn wanted to look that perfect too, but every dress she tried on didn't look perfect enough. At least, not in Quinn's own opinion. There was a shiny gold one that was pretty short but Quinn thought her legs looked really ugly all exposed like that. She slipped on a long forest green one after that, and it covered her legs but the shoulder straps were tiny and she didn't like how her shoulders looked. A very nice lavender one that was both floor length and had sleeves showed off too much of her cleavage and her boobs just looked uneven, Quinn thought. Gabrielle assured her she looked stunning in the vast majority of them, but Quinn couldn't see it. After a few hours of Gabi being remarkably patient and accommodating, continually trying her hardest to help, she asked her big sister to come back next weekend so that they could return to the mall and try again. Gabi didn't understand why Quinn couldn't just pick out one of the amazing dresses they'd seen that afternoon, but she agreed to help her again the next weekend.

Quinn was determined to lose some weight this week, before Gabrielle came back and before she had to try on more dresses. Quinn thought maybe the reason the dresses didn't look amazing on her was because she was a bit overweight. She stopped eating lunch, and then ate less at dinner, lying to her parents and saying she'd had a big lunch and just wasn't that hungry. Secretly, she was starving. Friday afternoon, right after school, Puck and Finn were going to an action movie together and Finn had figured Quinn wouldn't like it, so he didn't invite her along. Quinn had nothing to do that Friday so she went to the movie theater on her own. She walked into the line to buy a ticket for a romantic comedy, and stood there waiting, looking around. She saw a lot of happy people. To her left, a group of three little kids with their parents were going in to see the new Pixar film, holding some popcorn that smelled amazing. She saw a few boys that must have been in fifth or sixth grade playing arcade games over to her left. Straight ahead, she saw a girl she thought she recognized from her Algebra II class selling candy to a sweet looking elderly couple. No one seemed to be alone. Except... Finn. She was surprised to see her boyfriend heading into a theater.

She wasn't sure why she was reacting this way, but the thought of him going to a movie and not inviting her made her so upset that she couldn't stop herself from starting to cry. She left the line as discretely as possible and went back to her little red car in the parking lot, just letting the tears flow down her cheeks. It was quite sunny and hot outside that day and as she sat down on the beige leather interior, her short Cheerios skirt didn't cover her thighs and it practically burned, but she didn't bother to start the engine in order to turn on the air conditioning. She kinda liked the suffocating heat; it matched her current emotions of feeling overwhelmed. Her eyes were shut tightly as she cried, so she didn't notice Puck arriving late to meet Finn. He walked by her car on his way into the theater and saw her crying. He wanted to say something, but he figured it wasn't his place. Quinn was completely oblivious to the fact that she'd been seen.

That evening Quinn was back at home in her bedroom, staring in the mirror and trying not to think about how hungry she was, but rather trying to convince herself that she looked a bit thinner than she did the week before. She was still in her Cheerios uniform; she hadn't even changed for dinner with her parents. The uniform was skin tight and Quinn was trying to determine if she could see any tiny bumps or indications of being "chubby" or "ugly". She didn't see much of anything and was fairly satisfied. When her sister would arrive the next day to go shopping with her for a Homecoming dress, this time Quinn would probably look good in one of them. Her thoughts were interrupted when the doorbell rang and her mother called up the stairs,

"Quinny! There's a boy here to see you!" Quinn figured it was Finn, and started walking down the staircase. She was surprised to see Puck standing there in a white tank top, looking a little sweaty, and for some reason wearing a backpack. He appeared more sheepish than she'd ever seen him look before. "I'll just leave you two alone then," Judy said, smiling and leaving the foyer.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asked, curious.

"I..." Puck hesitated. "I wanted to make sure you were okay. I saw you crying earlier."

"What?" Quinn was confused. When did he see her crying? When _was_ she crying? "Oh... Please don't tell me you were at the movie theater!" Her cheeks started turning pink.

"Uh, yeah... Sorry, I saw you in your car... I was heading in to meet Finn. We hadn't seen a movie together in a while..."

"Oh gosh," Quinn said. She was so embarrassed. She averted her eyes.

"So... what were you crying about? You seemed really upset," Puck said sweetly. Quinn had never seen him act this nice to anyone.

"Um... I'm not sure. I... Come up to my room. We can sit down and talk," she told him. It was getting a little awkward with them just standing by the front door. Quinn walked up the stairs and into her room with Puck following. The room was pristine and so organized. Little ceramic unicorn figurines sat on her dresser and there was some purple design on her wallpaper, with matching lavender carpeting. He shut the door behind them, took his backpack off and set it on the floor, and then they sat down on the edge of her unmade bed. It was the only part of the room that didn't look perfect. The very light beige sheets seemed to match flawlessly with the color scheme of the room, however.

"I saw Finn go into the theater while I was standing in line," Quinn told him, "and I don't know, I just freaked out. I guess I figured he didn't want to invite me because he didn't really like me much anymore... because maybe I'm fat and not pretty enough for him." She looked away from Puck in shame. Once she admitted it out loud, it sounded really stupid.

"You've gotta be kidding." Puck said, rolling his eyes. "You're smoking hot, Quinn. Everyone at school knows it!"

"Really?" Quinn asked, a tear escaping from her eye and streaking down her face. She quickly raised her hand to wipe it away. "You don't think I'm fat?"

"Not even a little," Puck said, staring right into her eyes. Quinn blinked and looked back at him. He was looking at her with such determination and she felt beautiful for the first time all week. He slowly leaned in to kiss her. She didn't stop him. They kissed for about a second and then her stomach growled loudly. She pulled away quickly, smiling and embarrassed.

"Yeah, I heard that," Puck said, grinning a bit. "Did you eat dinner?"

"Yeah," Quinn fibbed, since really she hadn't touched a thing on her plate that evening. She'd only hid a bit of the food in a napkin and thrown it away to make it look like she'd eaten a little.

"Well, I wish I could offer you some food," Puck said, grabbing his backpack and starting to unzip it. "All I have is this case of wine coolers. It's better than nothing though. They have sugar and real fruit juice in them, they might make your stomach stop growling. Carbs and all," he said, raising his eyebrows like he was so cool and knowledgeable. She laughed.

"What makes you think I'd drink alcohol? I tend to follow the rules, and well... it's illegal!" she quietly exclaimed, glancing at the door and thinking about the fact that her parents were right downstairs.

"Oh come on, live a little," Puck said with a wink. He popped one open and took a sip. "Mmm... delicious," he teased.

She really was starving, and if it might help her be a bit less hungry, she figured it was worth it. She was feeling adventurous and grabbed one herself. Puck's face lit up. He wasn't really expecting her to drink any. She sipped it. It was less scary than she had expected. A little bitter, but the sweetness covered it up nicely. It just felt like she was drinking a normal beverage, like soda or something. She didn't know what she'd been so afraid of. They sat and drank their wine coolers, laughing and talking a bit about classes they shared and funny things Finn had done. Quinn felt guilty bonding with Puck like this. Finn was her boyfriend, yet here she was with Puck, and she'd even just kissed him. Puck noticed that she'd stopped talking and encouraged her to drink another bottle. She did, and she got drunk quickly because her stomach was so empty. She forgot about Finn, forgot about her parents being right downstairs, and even forgot for a second about the picture of Jesus hanging right above the head of her bed. She just noticed how muscular Puck's arms were, how sweet he was to her, and how much fun she was having. She kissed him this time, and he certainly didn't resist.

Soon it was more than kissing, it was making out. She couldn't resist him. They had more chemistry than she would have guessed and the feeling she got from kissing him made her whole body feel alive. Maybe it was just the fact that she was drunk for the first time ever that was making her feel this good. Every time they took half a second to catch their breath Quinn was smiling. They needed to get more comfortable and somehow ended up horizontal on Quinn's bed. Puck ran his hand over her leg in a very sensual way and then moved it back to her waist. Quinn had never done this before, kissing in this position, letting someone touch her other body parts in such a way; she and Finn had never gotten this far. As soon as she realized this, she pushed Puck away.

"I can't do this," she told him. She knew where this was leading, but she _couldn't_ have sex before being married.

"Yes you can," Puck said. "Have another wine cooler."

"I'm president of the Celibacy Club, I took a vow," she tried to protest.

"So did Santana and Brittany," Puck said, "and I did them."

"What about Finn?" Quinn asked seriously. "He's your best friend." Puck looked away from her for a second, thinking about it.

"Come on," he replied, "we're in high school. You think either one of us is gonna give a damn about Finn in three years?" He moved in slightly, his body more on top of hers again. She was drunk and he was so hot and she couldn't think very clearly. It was sounding like good logic to her. "Life's just a bunch of experiences, you know? You don't get a medal at the finish line for being good. You just get dead."

Quinn wanted to resist him, she really did. She knew what she was about to do was wrong on so many levels. But what she'd already just been doing – kissing Puck and drinking alcohol – had been wrong too. It'd been such a thrill, such a great experience, and she didn't want this experience to end. What Puck said seemed right, about life just being a bunch of experiences. And right then, in that moment, she needed to experience what it was like to have sex.

"Okay but you can't tell anybody, I can't lose my rep," she explained quickly.

"Our secret, baby," Puck assured her as he went in to kiss her again. She stopped him again quickly though, her drunken mind finally catching up to something important.

"What about protection?"

"I got it, trust me."

Quinn looked at him and she did trust him. She never had sex-ed in school or anything and all her parents had told her was that sex leads to babies and hell, but she was sure God would forgive her for just wanting to try it one time before marriage... and as for babies, Puck must have known what he was doing in order to avoid getting all the girls he'd slept with pregnant. She knew from TV that there were various types of protection and that teenagers had sex all the time without getting pregnant.

"This isn't just another hook-up for me," he told her while looking her right in the eye. He knew he was taking her virginity and that this was a big deal. She was so grateful that he understood. He kissed her on the lips. More than that, she felt like he truly cared about her. It felt so nice. He started kissing her neck passionately.

"Tell me one more time," she breathed. He knew exactly what she meant.

"You're not fat."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw, I was informed of 1 mistake of mine – that Quinn's sister was given a name (Frannie) on the show. My mistake. I'm sorry for inventing "Gabrielle". I did not realize my error. It's too late now though. I'm sure there are a few other major mistakes throughout this fic. Oh well.


	2. Quinn Wasn't Sure...

The following day Quinn bought the first new dress she tried on, and Gabrielle wondered why she needed to come and help her little sister at all. Quinn seemed very distracted that day and didn't care at all about how perfect she looked or didn't look; it was the complete opposite of how she was acting the previous week. She put the salmon colored dress with silver sequins back on its hanger and left the dressing room, knowing the next step was going to be buying matching shoes, but it seemed like she was just going through the motions.

"Is everything okay?" Gabi asked, following her sister to the shoe section of the store.

"What?" Quinn had been staring into space. "Um... yeah. Do you want to go to Breadstix on the way home for lunch?" she suggested, changing the subject.

Quinn couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she had cheated on Finn. She felt so guilty, and she dreaded the next time she was going to see him... which was going to be that same night. She also felt guilty for having had sex at all. She was scared that God would never forgive her. She feared that when her parents or Gabrielle looked at her, they might be able to tell something had changed. Would they know that she wasn't pure and innocent anymore? Maybe she looked like a slut somehow.

That evening she called Finn and told him before he came over to grab a swimsuit. When Finn arrived that night, she kissed him more passionately than was usual for a greeting of theirs. Quinn wanted Finn to feel appreciated; she may have been overcompensating for her transgression. She asked him to change into the swim trunks in her bedroom; she was going to wait downstairs because she was already wearing her bathing suit underneath her clothes. Finn was excited; he'd never been in the Fabrays' hot tub before. When he was changed, they headed into the backyard and had a steamy make-out session there, so steamy in fact that Finn thinking of hitting the mailman didn't even help.

On Monday, when Quinn went to school, she noticed Puck kissing Santana in the hallway and instantly felt jealous, although she had no right to feel that way. She started eating normally again, because being so hungry for even just one week was torturous enough. She still didn't eat a ton or anything though, Coach Sylvester made sure none of the Cheerios did. Quinn always swallowed down those gross shakes for lunch during the school week.

Finn for some reason was joining the school's glee club (something about blackmail and the Chronic Lady and how we're all losers anyway?). Quinn had been barely paying attention when he'd told her. But then she saw him singing a duet with that creepy Rachel Berry, and, again, she felt jealous. She wished she could make all these stupid feelings of jealousy go away.

Friday afternoon was the pep rally and then that evening was the Homecoming dance. Finn came over to pick her up and take her to the dance. He rang the doorbell and Judy answered, calling for her daughter. Quinn came out of the living room where she'd been waiting on the couch. Her dress was flowing and almost touched the floor but not quite. The little silver sequins around the neckline and on her sleeves sparkled. Her hair was done up in a pretty little bun with a salmon colored flower in it to match her dress.

"You look amazing," Finn told her sincerely. He was dressed up nicely too, wearing a simple salmon dress shirt to match Quinn's dress, a solid dark brown tie, and matching dark brown dress pants and dress shoes.

"Come on," Quinn said with a smile, lifting her arm and extending her hand. Finn took it and they were out the door.

The school gymnasium was covered in red and white streamers, which were the school colors. They had some nice red and white balloons around too, and the lights were dimmed to make a fun atmosphere. The school had hired a DJ and he played a lot of pop songs from the radio. They were fast paced and upbeat. Quinn enjoyed herself, dancing and watching Finn attempt to dance. She smiled and laughed for real for the first time since sleeping with Puck. Her guilt was fading from her conscience. Quinn held Finn tightly during the slow songs, breathing in the scent of his cheap cologne which his mother had probably bought him. She found it so nice to have her head on his chest like this; he was warm, and she was comfortable. Quinn was glad that Rachel wasn't there, nor Puck and Santana. Rachel was too repulsive to have a date and Puck and Santana, of course, were above such lame things as school dances. Quinn didn't have to feel jealous tonight; she was able to relax for once despite being in the school. She was able to just appreciate Finn, all his sweetness and the fact that he was all hers. She really did love her boyfriend.

The next week, Quinn noticed that her breasts felt unusually tender and sore. She figured it was just PMS even though her period wasn't due for another two weeks. She brushed it off. She went about her usual routine of school, Cheerios practice, a football game to cheer for on Friday night, and having dinner with Finn and Carole on Saturday. Homework was always done as soon as she got home from Cheerios practice, and if she had free time, Finn would usually come over and they'd make out. That week at school she tried to get Finn to quit the glee club; she hated what it was doing to her reputation. She watched Rachel Berry and Finn grind (and more) during their "Push It" performance for the whole school, and that just got her mind back to sex and what she'd done with Puck not too long ago. However, focusing on things like being popular and being jealous of... _that thing_... and mad at Finn for clearly being somewhat interested in that girl helped keep her mind off her real, more serious concerns. But after another whole week had passed, she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. She tried to pretend nothing was wrong, and she auditioned for the glee club as a way to spy on Rachel and Finn more closely. She felt more tired than seemed natural, and maybe a little bloated, almost like something was inside of her. Sue had asked Quinn, Santana, and Brittany to be her spies and Quinn was fine with that as long as she wasn't kicked off the Cheerios. Secretly she feared, however, that she might be pregnant. And if she was... she would definitely be kicked off the team.

She figured she must be paranoid but still went to the school library during lunch and made sure no one was looking. She searched the internet to see if it was likely that Puck's "pulling out" method of protection failed. She was horrified by what she found. Planned Parenthood's website came up first, and she read:

_Of every 100 women whose partners use withdrawal, 4 will become pregnant each year if they_ **_always_ ** _do it correctly._

She scanned the page more and found:

_Even if a man pulls out in time, pregnancy can still happen. Some experts believe that pre-ejaculate, or pre-cum, can pick up enough sperm left in the urethra from a previous ejaculation to cause pregnancy._

Before closing the page and heading back to the rest of her school day, she noticed near the bottom:

_Withdrawal is not recommended for teens and sexually inexperienced men because it takes lots of experience before a man can be sure to know when he's going to ejaculate._

She discretely closed the page and logged out of the school computer, then headed to Mr. Schue's Spanish class. The only thing on Quinn's mind was how she was, at that very moment, potentially pregnant. Her period wasn't due for a week still and she wasn't sure if she could wait that long to find out. Puck was experienced; he knew what he was doing, right? She hadn't felt anything get in her... or had she? Why couldn't she remember? She glanced at Puck on the other side of the classroom and, sure enough, he was flirting with another girl. He was the most sexually experienced teenager she knew, except for maybe Santana and Brittany. But he was still young- maybe he was still inexperienced in the whole scheme of things? Or maybe no one did anything wrong and they just got unlucky. She wished that wasn't the case.

"Quinn? Quinn?" Mr. Schue was asking her something.

"Oh, sorry... What?" she replied.

"¿Cuántas estaciones hay en un año?"

"Oh um. Four. I mean... Cuatro," she said. She was still having a lot of trouble focusing.

* * *

The next week passed by excruciatingly slowly and she wasn't even sure exactly which day her period should be coming. She never kept a calendar or anything. Would it be when Sunday finally came that all this pointless worrying would be over? Or maybe on Monday she'd finally be able to breathe a sigh of relief? Definitely by Tuesday she should get it, right? She went to school and life went on, providing some distractions from her internal struggle. She tried to get the glee club destroyed by having them hire the craziest, most hardcore choreographer Ohio had ever seen, Dakota Stanley. Wednesday crept by and her pad on her underwear was still spotless. Thursday came and the glee club was back stronger than ever, leaving Sue very disappointed with Santana and Quinn. Quinn knew no one, not even Sue, could blame Brittany for anything. She was too dumb to be at fault. Quinn felt sure it'd been too long now. She was probably pregnant. Quinn was very upset about this prospect and didn't need Sue to try to make her feel worse, not at that moment. In an attempt to fight away at least one of the things of the things causing her grief, she tried to retaliate at Coach Sylvester in the only way she could think of – by defending the glee club.

"Miss Sylvester," Quinn said, catching her attention. Sue removed her reading glasses. "I wanna thank you," Quinn started off sweetly.

"For what?" Sue said in a clipped tone.

"For teaching me a valuable life lesson." Sue stared at her. "When you really believe in yourself, you don't have to bring other people down." Quinn smiled smugly and turned around, leaving Sue's office, her ponytail bouncing slightly as she moved. She knew her coach well enough to know that Sue had no friends and despite her strong, confident, and scary facade, Sue didn't truly believe in herself.

Quinn headed to the drug store to pick up a pregnancy test. Enough was enough; she just _had_ to know. Unfortunately Tina was in the store. The girl seemed nice enough and probably the least likely person at the whole school to blab, what with her stutter keeping her quiet most of the time. Still, Quinn lingered and picked up one of those blue plastic baskets then stalled by picking out candy, headache medicine, lip balm, nail polish, and ponytail ties. She continued to pretend those types of items were the reason she was at the store until Tina left. With new bottles of shampoo and conditioner in her basket, she saw the Asian girl with highlights in her hair leave through the automatic doors. Then Quinn headed quickly to the aisle with the pregnancy tests. She found one with a brand she had heard of and trusted. She bought all of the things she'd accumulated in her basket, including the test. She didn't make eye contact with the cashier and as soon as her things were paid for, she dashed out of there.

Once at home, she rushed into the bathroom with the test. She opened the box delicately and read the directions five times in a row, even though once would have been sufficient. She peed on the stick. She waited the allotted amount of time. She was, sure enough, pregnant. That was that. Her face went pale. Her worst suspicions had come true. She couldn't comprehend what this meant, not fully, not right away. She had to sit down. She slowly sat down on the edge of the bathtub, moving the shower curtain out of her way. She was not only pregnant- which already was the end of the world in and of itself- but she was pregnant with Puck's baby. _Puck's_. What would she tell Finn? What _could_ she tell him? She could just not tell him and hope he wouldn't notice. Maybe he would just suspect she was gaining weight. She bit her lip. No, that wouldn't work. Everyone would know. It would be obvious in only a few months' time. She started to silently cry. Tears still flowing, she took the used test which she was still holding in her hand and put it back in the box. She then wrapped the box in toilet paper to hide it completely and shoved it into the little trashcan next to the toilet. Her parents would never find it.

Quinn went into her bedroom and changed out of her uniform for dinner. She took a deep breath and stopped crying. She took a tissue and wiped all evidence of tears from her face. She went downstairs and into the dining room, forcing a polite smile, trying to hide that something was wrong. Judy looked at her daughter.

"Quinny, were you just crying or something? Your eyes look a little red."

"I'm fine, Mom," Quinn lied. "I don't know what you're talking about." She smiled for her mother's benefit and hoped it would convince her.

"Alright then, if you say so," Judy replied. Quinn kind of wished her mother didn't believe her lie. A part of her was desperate to share, but her mother was oblivious. "We're having lasagna for dinner, Sweetie. I pressed the pasta myself!" Quinn rolled her eyes. Why did her mother have to always go so above and beyond the call of her housewife duties?

After dinner, Quinn went back up to her room to think. She came up with a plan for what to tell Finn. She considered telling him she was just as clueless as to how it had happened as he was considering they'd never had sex. It was horrible, but claiming to have been raped was an option she toyed with for half a second before dismissing it with disgust at herself. She considered coming clean with him about Puck, perhaps not bringing up his name but tearfully apologizing to him for cheating. However, she was afraid he'd leave her and she really wanted Finn to stay around; she needed him to help her through this. Finn was her best friend, her only real friend, and he wouldn't judge her the way her family would. Especially not if he thought he was the father. Quinn wanted Finn to believe he was the father. She tried to think of some story, something that could hopefully convince Finn that it was actually possible to get pregnant without sex. She tried to think of how his sperm could have possibly gotten in her. Had she dried herself on his bath towel at some point? Did he touch her legs with his hands after... playing with himself? She tried to think of which story would be the most plausible to her boyfriend. Suddenly it hit her – telling him it happened in the hot tub would work. She was sure he would believe it and they had been in it right around the right time that conception would be plausible. She _would_ convince Finn it was his baby. She had a little time though. She could wait a while before telling him. For the time being, it could remain a secret that she alone knew.

Quinn went to school the next day, Friday, as usual, and no one suspected a thing. She avoided Finn in the hallway and made no plans to see him over the weekend. On Saturday, Finn texted her and she ignored him. Sunday morning Quinn got up and got dressed for church. She stared in the mirror at her nice pastel blue dress and shiny white shoes. She had that gold cross around her neck, and she felt like such a hypocrite. This was a disguise, this whole outfit. She was hiding a baby that had already started to grow inside her... A result of a horrible sin. The cross necklace that she never took off was a symbol of how good of a Christian she was- a complete and utter lie. She looked pretty and perfect and no one would guess that she was no longer the sweet little girl who would be attending the chastity ball with her father in a couple of months. She was no longer innocent. Quinn ran her fingers through her hair one last time before turning her back to the mirror and meeting her parents in the foyer.

At church, the minister spoke to the congregation but Quinn didn't hear a word he said. The thoughts in her own head were too loud and the secret was eating her up. She felt _so_ guilty. Quinn decided that school the next day would be when someone would have to know her secret. She couldn't keep it to herself anymore. So, she'd tell Finn- he'd be her confidant. She could trust him, he'd always been such a good boyfriend to her and she believed he really loved her. Right? She made up her mind. Monday, sometime while at school, the conversation would happen, painful as it might be. Finn might be smarter than she ever gave him credit for and he might realize she'd cheated on him. She desperately did _not_ want the school to find out she had let herself get seduced by Puck and actually broke her vow of chastity. However, Quinn hoped that Finn was just dumb enough to believe her and just good enough of a guy to be there for her. She was sure after the initial shock, if Finn really did believe it was his baby, he'd do the right thing and be there for her. He would try to be a good father once it came and for now support her through her pregnancy. She couldn't imagine Finn getting scared and ignoring her. He wasn't that type of guy. Even the worst case scenario of Finn being mean and breaking up with her because he realized she cheated would be worth it; keeping it to herself any longer would be even more torturous.


	3. "What do you want from me?"

Quinn walked into school Monday morning nervously scanning the hallway for Finn. That poor kid with the Jew-fro was being bullied in one corner, and per usual one of the glee club members was getting slushied – on this day it was the guy in the wheelchair. She wasn't sure if that moment, before homeroom, would be the right time to tell him. Maybe since glee rehearsal would be after lunch, and they'd have to be in the same room together for an hour, she should wait until after school was over for the day to tell him. Finn would need time for the information to sink in even in the best case scenario; it wouldn't be fair to him to tell him before the school day had even begun.

She noticed her boyfriend and decided to go up to him and kiss him one last time before he found out her news. One last innocent, oblivious kiss. She wanted to relish it for herself and flaunt it to the rest of the school. She wanted Finn to feel loved too, and she hoped he'd remember that feeling later in the day when she told him her secret. She dropped off her school books in her locker then walked up to him quickly, her pony tail flopping a bit. He was getting his books out of his locker, his back turned to her. She reached him and tapped him gently on his shoulder, making him turn around.

"Oh hi, Quinn," he said, smiling slightly. She didn't return the verbal greeting but rather stepped on her tip toes and put both of her hands on the back of his head. She pulled him into a passionate kiss and felt his soft hair in her fingertips. Finn took a second to catch up to what was going on, but after a few seconds started kissing back and leaning into her. He adjusted his body so that now his back was completely to the lockers and the kiss was more comfortable. He gently placed his hands on the small of her back, on top of the red Cheerios shirt. Quinn released herself from the kiss with the hugest grin on her face and then lowered herself back to the floor.

"Hi," she finally replied. Finn's eyes went wide.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing. I just... felt like kissing you," she explained vaguely, her smile no longer quite reaching her eyes. "See you later," she finished in an attempt to remain cheerful. She turned away from him and her smile quickly faded.

Later while at lunch, Quinn realized only drinking one of those shakes while being pregnant couldn't be healthy for her baby. She decided to start defying her coach and instead eat an actual lunch for once. She wished the school offered more healthy options, staring at the tater tots and ice cream on everyone's trays. She decided to purchase a little salad, a boring piece of chicken, and a carton of low-fat milk. It was the healthiest lunch option she could see at the school that day. Santana came up to her.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked harshly.

"I just feel like eating lunch, get over it," Quinn snapped back. Santana hesitated, confused for a moment. Then she shrugged.

"Well it's your funeral," she informed her before leaving Quinn to her meal.

The last class of the day was glee club rehearsal. Finn, looking a bit bored, was already in the room along with Kurt and Mercedes when Quinn got there. Quinn sat next to Finn and sweetly smiled at him, then put her arm around his neck so that she was touching his far shoulder. She stroked him very gently, wanting him to continue to feel loved. He'd be finding out she was pregnant soon. Everyone else arrived. Mr. Schuester handed everyone sheet music with their assigned musical part in West Side Story, and he gave Tina a solo which caused Rachel to freak out. Quinn enjoyed seeing the girl make a fool out of herself in front of everyone. After glee club, Quinn knew Finn had football practice, even though she didn't have Cheerios practice on Mondays. She left the rehearsal room before him and overheard Kurt asking him to wait up. She wondered what that was about. She noticed Finn and Kurt leave together and head towards the men's locker room, but they didn't notice her. She just waited for him in the hallway.

Quinn mentally practiced what she'd say to him and how she'd word it exactly. Lots of people were hanging around after school; it seemed almost everyone had after school activities. She wandered towards the auditorium and heard Mr. Schue giving Tina a voice lesson. She wandered back towards her locker and decided she should put her books away; there was no point in carrying them the whole time she was waiting for Finn. She stared at the time on a clock inside a random classroom. As it got closer to when she knew Finn would be returning into the building, she got more nervous. With only two or three minutes left til she saw Finn again, she started heading back to her locker to retrieve her books. She needed them for her homework. She started running through all the worst case scenarios of how telling Finn would go in her head. The thoughts were making her start to cry a little, and a single tear escaped from one of her eyes. She didn't bother to wipe it off, but took a deep breath and stopped herself from crying. Not yet. She could cry after she had said her little speech. She opened her locker and started grabbing the books, then she heard his voice calling her.

"Quinn? Quinn?" he asked, following her as she turned away from him. She was leading him away from the crowd, so that this conversation could remain private. She wasn't responding to him, and Finn was confused. "Hey, what's with the silent treatment?" She breathed slowly, steadying herself instead of replying to him calling her name. She turned so that her back was to the trophy case. This was the moment for which she'd been preparing. She bit her lip nervously.

"Whatever I... did I'm sorry," Finn said, changing his tone from defensive to apologetic halfway through his sentence as he noticed the tear mark on her face.

"I'm pregnant," she told him. "I wasn't sure, and I really didn't want to go by myself," she continued, trying to explain to him that she only had taken a home test and thought she needed to go to a doctor. She couldn't get all the words out though, it was too distracting that he wasn't looking at her. It was stressing her out and making her forget the speech she'd prepared. He wasn't comprehending what she was saying. He was too focused on the first two words she'd said. He was blinking a lot and seemed to be in shock and taking it in. She tried to get his attention back. "I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you sooner," she added, willing herself to not burst into tears right on the spot.

"Am I?" Finn asked, finally saying something. Quinn tried to think positively, he hadn't run away yet, and the question somewhat implied that he thought it was actually possible that he could be the father. He wasn't assuming she'd cheated yet. So far so good. She nodded in response to him.

"Yes, you. Who else's would it be?" she asked with feigned innocence. Finn was breathing hard and looked off to the side for a second, thinking it through.

"But we," Finn started to ask incredulously, "We never-"

"Last month?" Quinn interrupted, with a tone that implied it was obvious. She really needed to convince him. "Hot tub?" she added, raising her shoulders a bit as she said it. Finn furrowed his brow, remembering.

"But we were wearing our swimsuits!" Finn knew it didn't make any sense. This would be the part where she either sold the story or... well... she just knew she _had_ to sell it. But she couldn't look him in the eye. She needed to concentrate and remember what she'd thought of to say.

"Ask Jeeves said a hot tub is the perfect temperature for sperm and it-" She knew she should make eye contact to really sell the end of the story. "It helps it swim faster."

"Oh my god," Finn said. He was buying it! "Oh my god." He was freaking out, breathing heavily, trying to comprehend what this meant. Quinn was so relieved. He thought he was the father. Her story worked. "Are you gonna get a-" Quinn knew what he meant and of course not. She was a good Christian and that would be murder, he _had_ to understand that! She looked down, bit her lip, and shook her head.

"No." She took a deep breath and swayed a bit. "I _really_ thought I had a shot at getting out of here," she finished, her voice breaking. The tears she was holding in until this conversation was over were coming. She couldn't stop them any longer. She didn't know if Finn felt like comforting her, but she needed him to so desperately. She didn't look at his face for permission first but merely eyed his shoulder and buried her face in it. As she leaned into him, the school bell rang loudly, but to Quinn it sounded faint. Finn let her stay, and she just stood there sobbing into his new shirt, one he'd just changed into after football practice.

She pulled away from him after a minute or so, and looked up at him. Finn didn't say anything, even though it seemed like he wanted to. Quinn figured she should forgive him for not knowing what to say.

"I probably should go home now, we both should be studying for that English quiz tomorrow, right?" she asked rhetorically, meekly attempting to break some of the tension. Finn blinked a few times, and then nodded.

"Uh... yeah. Right."

Quinn started heading to her car, but Finn didn't follow her out to the parking lot. She paused and turned back toward him. He was walking in the opposite direction, his back to her. The hallway was thinning out, and they were two of the only people left around. She considered calling to him and telling him to keep what she'd just revealed to himself but then decided against it. She hoped he'd know better than to tell anyone. She hoped it was obvious that this was a secret for just the two of them to share.

At home, Quinn tried to focus on her homework. She studied for about five minutes but ended up going online and looking up details on what being pregnant would be like, and then she tried to figure out where she could go to a doctor. She would need to see one soon. She ate dinner with her parents, and then went to bed and tried to sleep. She tossed and turned all night, probably only getting a few hours of sleep. When she woke up, she felt a bit nauseous. She figured this was the beginning of the morning sickness and hated it already. She turned on the shower to hide the sound from her parents, then threw up in the toilet. When she got to school, she walked up to Finn with trepidation. He smiled at her though, and she was grateful.

"So... how are you?" he asked. "I mean... how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she replied, but then glanced around nervously to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "But I think I got my first taste of morning sickness this morning," she added.

"I'm sorry," Finn said, trying to be sympathetic. "Can I... I mean... Is there anything I can do?" He seemed to genuinely want to help but be lost for how. Quinn smiled in appreciation.

"No, I think this is something I'm gonna have to handle on my own," she told him.

She took her English quiz and had to guess at half of the questions, which wouldn't have happened if she had spent more time reading the chapters assigned and less time freaking out about being pregnant. She ate a real lunch again, to Santana and Brittany's dismay. There was no Glee club today, but she did have Cheerios practice after school. Finn texted her to inform her that he she would be pleasantly surprised at the football game on Friday night. He and Kurt (did she read that right?) had something very unusual up their sleeves, apparently. She went to her locker after practice and got her books so she could go home. She thought about how the previous day at this hour she was worried about how Finn might react to her news, and how grateful she was that he was taking it so well and being so wonderfully supportive. But then he texted her again. Apparently he told Puck. What? She read it again:

_sorry really puck made me tell him_

_he knows sorry love finn_

She couldn't believe her eyes. There it was. Puck knew. She hadn't planned for this. She wanted to kill Finn. She finished getting her books and closed her locker. She started walking down the hall slowly, thinking about Puck. What would his reaction be? Would he ruin this for her and tell Finn that he wasn't the father? She hoped not. Would he be mad at her for not telling him? Would he pretend he didn't know and not say a thing to anyone, not even her? Oh no, he was coming towards her. She looked back at the ground.

"'Sup, MILF?" Puck was right up in her face. Okay so maybe that last option was out of the running. He was certainly saying something. Something very rude. She wasn't stupid, she knew what that acronym stood for.

"Leave me alone," she countered, starting to walk faster to get away from him. She didn't want to have to deal with him right now. He caught up to her though. He wasn't giving up that easily. She knew she couldn't really blame him, despite wanting to.

"Who's the daddy?" he asked harshly. She hated the question. She turned her head a bit further away from Puck, trying to get across that she didn't want to talk right now. Finn believed he was the father, and she was starting to almost believe it herself. She didn't want to be reminded that it was Puck. They both slowed down their pace until they had stopped moving. "I just think it's kinda _weird_ if it's Finn because you told me you were a _virgin_ when we did it," Puck continued, still sounding angry. His tone was making Quinn pretty upset. She already hated herself for cheating, and for having had sex before being married, and now she was pregnant. Why did he have to add even more insult to injury? She told him she had taken a celibacy vow when they did it, he was right. Why couldn't he have respected that at the time instead of continuing to seduce her? Tears formed in her eyes. Puck added, "And I know for a _fact_ that you didn't do it with him." This caused Quinn to turn to him.

"How can you be so sure?" she challenged smugly. Puck couldn't be that sure. He didn't know her that well. But Puck shrugged off her question easily with an answer ready.

"Finn's my boy. He would have _told_ me."

"You make a habit of sleeping with your _boys'_ girlfriends?" Quinn asked, trying to make it clear to him (in case he didn't already know) that sleeping with her had been wrong. She was mad at him for convincing her to do it. She turned away from him.

"Well, call the Vatican!" Puck started shouting. Quinn returned to him quickly, desperately trying to make him shut up. "We got ourselves another immaculate conception!" She pulled him by his backpack strap out of the main hallway and away from most of the people. "I'd take care of it you know," Puck then told her with conviction. "You too." He looked around to make sure no one was listening. "My dad's a deadbeat, but I don't roll that way." Quinn thought about it for a second.

"Weren't you fired from being a fast food frialator?" she reasoned back with the same amount of conviction. She seemed to have defeated him for half a second, but then he turned back to her.

"I've got my pool cleaning business."

"We live in Ohio," she retorted. He looked defeated for real this time, like he realized she had a point. There were tears still begging to leave her eyes and she was struggling to hold them back. She hated that the father of the baby growing inside her was Puck. She hated it with her whole being. "I had sex with you because you got me drunk on wine coolers and I felt fat that day. But it was a mistake," she explained forcefully. "You're a Lima loser and you're always gonna be a Lima loser." Her voice was about to break. She didn't want to start crying in front of him so she quickly fled to her car.

The raindrops felt cold on every inch of her exposed skin, and she wondered whether God was being sympathetic to her plight and making the weather match her mood, or if He was trying to show His disapproval at all of her sins. Either way, she felt sure this storm was meant for her. She heard a loud crack of thunder and half-wished it would just strike her dead and take her out of her misery. The rain mixed with her tears and she continued to cry even as she opened her red car door, got into the driver's seat, and then closed the door quickly behind herself. She was sobbing uncontrollably, and she would have been willing to bet that the pregnancy hormones were not helping her be any less emotional. Suddenly, she heard a woman's voice coming from the passenger's seat.

"How many weeks are you?" Quinn jumped up, startled by her presence. "By the looks of you, I'd say no more than five or six." And she was, she was five weeks pregnant. She'd found out the previous night while looking online for how to calculate it – at that very moment it was about five weeks from the first day of her last period. "I assume you haven't told your parents yet. I mean how could you? After Daddy bought you this car so you could drive him to the chastity ball?" Quinn stared at the woman in shock and disbelief. "You can't raise this baby, Quinn."

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Quinn finally asked. The woman with dirty blond hair smiled at her knowingly. It was creepy.

"I'm just somebody who wants to help," she said kindly, as if she was the most reasonable person in the world and it was normal to just break into a stranger's car and start listing off all sorts of things about the stranger: her name, who had bought her car for her, the secret that she was pregnant...

"I don't need your help!" Quinn exclaimed. "Get the hell out of my car!"

"Really? What kind of prenatal vitamins are you taking?" Quinn gaped at her. "Yeah," the woman whispered with a smile. She reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle. "Here, three times a day or your baby will be ugly." Quinn took the bottle from her and stared at it, blinking a few times.

"I don't understand," she said, shaking her head from side to side. "What do you want from me?" This took the woman aback for a moment. Quinn furrowed her brow at her, waiting for a response.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but... I..." Quinn wished she would get on with it. "I want your baby," the woman explained.

"What?" Quinn yelped. Was she dreaming? Was this a nightmare? She considered pinching herself.

"Let me explain. My name is Terri Schuester, I'm Will's wife," she continued in her sickly sweet voice.

"Mr. Schue's wife..." Quinn repeated, trying to comprehend. "So Mr. Schue knows I'm pregnant?" Quinn asked, still upset. Did Finn really blab to everyone? Maybe she shouldn't have trusted him.

"Yeah he mentioned it to me, he feels so bad for you two," Terri continued. "See the thing is," she said, getting to her point, "Will thinks I'm pregnant right now." She pulled up her shirt to reveal a small pregnancy pad. Quinn couldn't help feeling bad for her Spanish teacher and glee club instructor. How could his wife lie to him like that? How could such a nice guy be married to such a lunatic?

"I still don't understand," Quinn said. "Why do you want my baby?" She felt very protective of her unborn child at this moment, like someone was trying to rip it right out of her body.

"Well, you see I'm only a few weeks ahead of you in my pregnancy, as far as Will knows. When you give birth, you can just tell everyone you gave it away for adoption, but not say who exactly you gave it to. But your baby could be raised by me and Will!" Terri sounded so excited, and Quinn was scared to think of this woman potentially being the mother that would raise her baby. "We'd be such perfect parents, and you're just in high school, you can't handle raising a baby by yourself. You and your boyfriend have no money, right?" Quinn realized she had a point.

"I don't know..." Quinn hesitated. Couldn't she just have a second to breathe? Give her baby up for adoption. Hmm. It was a possibility she hadn't fully considered yet, but probably a good option. The lady sitting next to her was terrifying her, but at least she knew enough about being a good mother to know about prenatal vitamins. Quinn hadn't even realized those things existed. "I guess... you're right. Mr. Schue would be a great dad, wouldn't he?" she asked, thinking aloud.

"Oh he'd be the absolute _best_!" Terri assured her very enthusiastically. "So... please? Pretty please?" she begged.

"I... um... Can I please think about it?" Quinn needed time to think. She closed her eyes. She really wanted to keep her baby. She'd already been planning a life in her mind where Finn was helping her raise it. However, Mr. Schue raising her baby was not the worst idea, he was one of the sweetest men she'd ever met and he was more ready to be a father than Finn was, more ready to be a parent than she was. It would take a huge burden off of her shoulders. She wasn't sure, though. A part of her thought her baby should stay with her, that she should shield it from this psycho lady. Quinn would do everything in her power to make sure her child grew up happy and healthy, and she wasn't sure she could trust anyone else to feel the same way. Quinn opened her eyes again and looked at Terri. "I'm just not so sure I want to give away my baby," Quinn explained.

"Sure, sure, take a few days or even weeks and mull it over," Terri replied. "But I hope you'll come to the right decision!" Quinn couldn't believe this woman. But she would think about it, and maybe, just maybe, she might decide that giving her baby to the Schuesters would be the right choice.


	4. The Football Game

Quinn couldn't sleep at all that night. She wasn't sure how Finn, Puck, and Mr. Schue would act around her the next day in school. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her baby once it was born. She feared what would happen to her once her parents found out that she had slept with someone. Someone who specialized in making Chasity Ball type dresses was coming over in the afternoon and as she tossed and turned in bed in the wee hours of the morning, she prayed that something would happen and that the preparation for the ball would have to be postponed until another day. She got out of bed a few minutes early that morning, and got dressed before the sun had risen. She decided to start taking the prenatal vitamins Mrs. Schuester had given her. She took them out of the hiding place in her sock drawer and opened the bottle.

Her mother had already prepared eggs and toast for her daughter to eat for breakfast and Quinn ate a good amount, wanting to make sure her baby would get enough nutrients to continue to grow. She drove herself to school as slowly as she could, but she still seemed to get there in no time and as she exited the car, she looked around nervously for any of the three people who knew her secret. Luckily, no one was around except Santana who waved to her and started walking towards her. Santana passed by all the lesser McKinley High students quickly, clearly too popular and important in comparison to the rest of them for them to even warrant a glance from her.

"Hey, Quinn. What's up?" Santana asked, oblivious to the fact that Quinn desperately did _not_ want to answer a question like that.

"Oh, you know, nothing," Quinn lied. "Where's Brittany?" she asked, aware that Brittany and Santana were usually joined at the hip.

"Oh, Lord Tubbington has to be taken to the vet so she's missing school today," Santana explained as the girls continued walking toward the school.

"Lord Tubbington?"

"Britt's cat."

"Oh. That's quite a ridiculous name," she mocked.

"Yeah, well... you know Brittany," she replied in agreement. Quinn wondered how a girl as stupid as Brittany could be Santana's best friend. They walked into the school hallway. "So Coach Sylvester said she'd have a new routine for us tomorrow at practice," Quinn said, changing the subject and trying to make smalltalk.

"Uh huh," Santana replied, not really listening, because just then Puck caught her eye. Santana started rushing over to Puck, but Puck looked at Quinn briefly and their eyes locked. His face almost looked apologetic, but Quinn wasn't quite sure. He seemed to have something he wanted to say to her, but there was no time, because Santana interrupted the gaze by pulling him into a passionate kiss. And Puck, being Puck, seemed to forget Quinn was standing there and instead started making out with her right there in the hallway. Quinn just stood there, staring as they kissed for a surprisingly long time without taking a breath and Puck's hands started heading towards Santana's butt. It was an obscene public display of... well... Quinn wouldn't quite call it affection.

"Quinn?" Quinn stopped staring at the father of her baby making out with someone else and turned to see Mr. Schuester looking at her.

"Oh, hi, yes?" she floundered after a couple too many seconds.

"Are you okay?" he asked her sweetly and sincerely. He'd probably seen her standing still in the hallway staring for a bit too long. She also knew he knew that she was pregnant and she was very embarrassed about that. She smiled and pretended this was just about the staring and not about the pregnancy.

"Yeah, Mr. Schue. I'm fine." She nodded and tried to assure him of that briefly, then quickly turned away and started heading towards her locker. Mr. Schue, however, called after her.

"Quinn?" She sighed and turned back to him.

"Yes?" she asked innocently.

"If you ever... need... to talk about anything, just know I'm always here." Will really seemed to mean it and the compassion and kindness in his words almost overwhelmed her. She was afraid someone in the hallway around them would notice him being too nice to her, so she quickly tried to shake off his offer.

"Thanks, but really, I'm fine," she insisted. She walked away from him quickly, wishing he could know that she truly appreciated the thought despite her almost rude dismissal.

She went to her first period without once seeing Finn or Puck again and she appreciated that. Her US History teacher was at the front of the classroom showing the class a few maps on the overhead projector. As Quinn took her notes and absorbed the new information he was teaching them, all was temporarily fine. On her way to her second period, however, she saw Finn in the hallway. He started walking towards her. They both didn't know what to say to each other once he caught up to her, though.

"Hi," she said to him meekly.

"Hi," he said back with the same hesitance.

"So... I'll see your surprise on Friday at the game?" she asked, trying to keep the subject of conversation light and trivial.

"Yeah," Finn replied.

"Well..." Quinn said, slowing down as she approached a particular door.

"This is your classroom?" Finn asked, although he knew very well that it was.

"Yeah."

"Okay, see you later?" he asked, almost unsure.

"Yeah... see you later." Finn turned away from her and she stared after him for a moment, wishing things didn't have to be so different between them now, so awkward. She then entered the classroom.

When school was over, Quinn went straight home and sure enough a petite young woman with a huge smile and a bunch of dresses behind her was waiting for Quinn as she walked into her living room. A very excited Judy was standing there too, awaiting her daughter. Quinn felt like this was a nightmare. She was only one month pregnant now and she wasn't showing at all yet, but the ball was almost two months away, and her dress might not fit the same way by then. She tried on a couple of dresses for the lady and tried her best to act interested in how they looked on her. Even if it did still fit by the time the ball came around, she didn't want to go. This was going to be a _Chastity_ Ball. She couldn't go to it, it wouldn't be right. She tried not to think about it too much and instead just stood there, forcing a few fake smiles as the lady measured her and decided to custom-make her a dress.

"She's just too pretty to wear any old off the rack dress, don't you think?" the woman asked Quinn's mother. Judy's eyes lit up with pride.

"You're right, custom making one just for Quinny would be so perfect," Judy said with a huge smile.

She asked Quinn some questions about her preferences in styles and Quinn answered them with great effort. This whole ordeal was killing her internally. The lady kept talking about how proud her dad would be of her and how beautiful she'd be and all she kept hearing was how her dad would instead be so disappointed and how fat and ugly she was going to be by the end of her pregnancy. When the dress measurements were all made and the sweet oblivious lady who was driving Quinn insane finally left with Judy walking her out, Quinn sat down on the couch and tried to let herself feel relieved that it was over. However, Quinn knew it wasn't over. Her pregnancy and all the stressful things that would come with it were really barely beginning.

She went to school for the rest of the week and not much happened. She shared a few looks with Puck but they never had a conversation. Quinn wasn't sure what Puck was thinking. Finn seemed to be avoiding her a bit, but she couldn't really blame him. Whenever they did meet up, they'd only talk about mundane things like homework and the weather and she hadn't kissed Finn at all since she told him her news. Quinn tried not to make eye contact with Mr. Schue much in Glee club and Spanish class, but whenever she did, he seemed to look concerned for her. Maybe she was imagining it, but it really felt like he was looking at her very differently than he did the previous week.

She went to Cheerios practice on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and really enjoyed herself. While she was cheering and standing on the top of the pyramid, she was temporarily escaping her problems and instead just enjoying the exhilaration that came with working hard as a part of a team.

Friday night was the football game. Quinn cheered a bit, waiting for the surprise to happen. At one point Finn looked at her a few times and she smiled at him, expectantly. He then called a timeout and before she knew it the whole McKinley High football team was singing and dancing to Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" of all songs. She looked at Finn dancing all cute and she couldn't contain her laughter. She pulled the pompom in her left hand up to her face to hide it. After their musical performance was over, the team proceeded to score points and actually win the game. The feeling of excitement and pride in the stands and on the field was amazing. She glanced over towards Kurt being hoisted up into the air and she smiled. She then saw her boyfriend taking off his helmet and approaching her, and she smiled even wider for him and raised her hands toward his face. She pulled him into her and their mouths met. She'd missed kissing him so much and it was a wonderful feeling. They pulled away from each other slowly, both of them still grinning. Finn looked at her with confidence.

"I love you," he said, and Quinn was sure he meant it. It was the first time he'd said those words to her since finding out she was pregnant, and Quinn was so relieved and grateful that he still felt that way about her.

"I love you too," she replied quietly with tears in her eyes; for once, tears of happiness. "I'll see you Monday?" she asked. He nodded and smiled in reply. They slowly parted ways and headed back to their own homes. Quinn slept soundly that night.

Finn called her the next day and Quinn asked him to make sure he was alone in a room with a door closed. Then they really discussed some things that had been on their minds. Quinn admitted to Finn that she was so scared about how her parents would react when they found out and how she dreaded the idea of not being able to stay on the Cheerios. Finn apologized for telling Puck and Will and swore those were the only two people he'd told. Quinn forgave him. Finn explained that he wanted to try and get a football scholarship now more than ever so that he could end up going to college and getting a real job. He wanted to be able to make money for her and their child and not be a Lima Loser for the rest of his life. Their conversation lasted a long time and when she hung up the phone she felt so much more sure that everything would eventually work out okay. It would be difficult, but everything would be alright in the end.

Back at school on Monday morning, Finn walked up to Quinn while she was at her locker.

"Hey," he greeted her. She smiled in response and he started to pull something out of his backpack's outside pocket. "Here," he said, holding the little light blue piece of cloth out to her. "It's my gee-gee." Quinn looked at it with intrigue and gently started to feel it with her fingers. "It's the baby blanket my dad got me the day I was born," he told her, and she realized that the soft little thing was very sentimental to Finn. "It was the only thing I had to remember him by. I used to cry without it and..." he paused, and Quinn realized this was hard for him. "I took it everywhere with me, so it's a little dirty... but I want our baby to have it," Finn finished, and Quinn looked up from the blanket and met his eyes. It was such a sweet gesture and it pained her a bit. Finn shouldn't be giving this to a baby that wasn't even his, that would just be wrong, and she felt a bit guilty. He was being so sweet though, this was such an amazing gesture on his part. "I'm gonna do everything I can to be a good father," he then added and Quinn didn't know what to say. Finn was being too perfect, and she couldn't love him more than she did right then. She half-laughed with tears of appreciation in her eyes and shook her head in disbelief at how wonderful he was being.

"Thank you, Finn," she said as she leaned into him for a hug. She had barely touched her head to his chest though when suddenly, Puck interrupted their intimate moment.

"Hey guys," he said smugly, walking up to them wearing a bright blue t-shirt. "How you doin'?" Quinn could feel his eyes glance over her and she bit her lip. His tone sounded... fake somehow. "You know, lately I've been getting really _sick_ in the morning."

"Must be a virus," Quinn managed to retort. She couldn't _believe_ he was doing this to her there, then, right in front of Finn.

"Hey, you putting on a little weight?" he asked, looking her up and down. She didn't think she had gained any weight yet but she was very self conscious about being fat still and she hated that Puck was purposely hitting her right where he knew it would hurt her the most. "You should watch your carbs. They're not going to be able to hoist you to the top of that cheerleading pyramid much longer," he informed her matter-of-factly.

"Hey," Finn replied to him, defending her. "Don't talk to my girlfriend like that." Quinn didn't look in either boy's eyes, but merely continued to stand there, hoping for Puck to disappear and leave them alone soon.

"You know what?" Puck said. "You're right, I was outta line." He started walking away from them. "See you guys around," he said in parting. Quinn wondered what Finn might be thinking. She hoped that he didn't even remotely suspect the truth – that Puck was upset because he was the actual father of her baby. It seemed clear that Puck was mad at her, but she wasn't sure why. He hadn't seemed mad at her like that the whole previous week, their glances from across classrooms and hallways had not prepared her for him acting like this.

"I'm sorry I told Puck," Finn apologized. "I had no idea he'd... be so mean."

"It's okay," she assured him, even though it wasn't really okay at all. "I don't blame you for... him." She felt bad as she looked up at her confused boyfriend's face.

"I've gotta be heading to class," Finn realized as the crowd thinned out in the hallway.

"Oh yeah, me too," Quinn said. Finn turned away from her and started heading towards his classroom. Quinn just stood there with her back up against the locker, watching people pass. The bell rang and Quinn was officially late for class. She watched the few remaining stragglers head into their classes, about to be marked "tardy". She thought about how Puck didn't seem to be letting her get away with her lie and how a part of her didn't want to get away with it. A part of her knew it wasn't fair to Finn and she thought about her baby and Finn's blanket. That's how she remained for a little while- just standing there sadly against the lockers, thinking, not even caring that she was missing her class by standing there, doing nothing in the hallway.


	5. Quinn actually really likes being in glee club

Rachel had quit Glee club about a week earlier, so now Quinn was the one singing a romantic duet with her boyfriend. She smiled as she stared into Finn's eyes and sang "Don't Stop Believin'", but before she knew it nausea took her over once again. She rushed out of the rehearsal room and into the girls' bathroom. She hated the fact that "morning sickness" had turned out to be a cruel misnomer, since she tended to be nauseous all day long. This was the third time she'd had to rush out of glee club, and Quinn was worried that the members might start to suspect the truth.

Quinn also couldn't control her emotions anymore, and it seemed anything and everything caused her to burst into tears. She started crying one day in English class because the way the teacher had interpreted the literature was just too beautiful. Then the next day in Spanish class she accidentally mispronounced a word; she was embarrassed, much more so than was rational, and again she was crying. She knew some people were probably starting to notice that she was acting really odd; she was no longer her normal bitchy and tough self. While in the hallway a few days after that, Finn mentioned that the new April lady who Mr. Schue was bringing into the glee club was pretty good looking for her age and also had a surprisingly nice voice. This caused a very public and loud outburst from Quinn that caused even Sue to turn and stare. Quinn's hormones were out of control, and they weren't even the only noticeable pregnancy symptom that Quinn was experiencing.

Quinn got into her nightgown, turned off her lights, then climbed into her bed. Just resting on her side was a bit painful now because her breasts were so tender. She squirmed around a bit until she got into a comfortable position, then she laid there and felt her heart beating unusually fast. Her body was certainly going through changes. She knew she needed to go to the doctor soon to make sure both she and her baby were doing okay. It was getting close to time for a first sonogram so the next day, she made a phone call to set up an appointment at a women's clinic- an appointment she would go to in two weeks that would be confidential. She started to steal a few dollars from her mother's wallet every day, hoping that if she took such a small amount at a time it wouldn't be missed. She realized she'd need money for doctors and other things.

On Saturday, the glee club would be performing – it was their Invitationals. Saturday morning, Finn came over. Finn was acting all weird... looking at his feet... shifting his eyes nervously. Quinn hoped he didn't have anything to feel guilty about. He was certainly acting guilty.

"Come on," she said quickly, grabbing the end of his sleeve and dragging him out to the backyard to talk privately. "Spill it."

Finn told her some upsetting news.

"Rachel came up to me yesterday in school," he began. Quinn tensed at the sound of her name. "And she told me that everyone knows. About you."

"What?" Quinn shrieked. She realized her volume was too high and tried to quiet down her panic. "Who's 'everyone'? How did they find out?"

"I don't know."

Quinn didn't know how to react to this news. She invited Finn to eat lunch with her and her mother made them sandwiches. Finn and Quinn ate in silence. He left to go back home right after lunch, kissing her briefly before he went. They knew they'd be seeing each other later for the Invitationals.

Quinn finished all her homework that would be due Monday, deciding it'd be nice to get it finished early. She ate dinner with her parents, listening politely as her father complained about a coworker. Then she went back up to her room to change into her costume for the first number- dark jeans, a black shirt with pink threads, and a black cowgirl hat. She packed her outfit for the second number in a little bag and waved goodbye to her mother who was sitting in the living room watching some Lifetime original movie. Quinn tried not to care that everyone else in the club probably had parents who were coming to watch them perform.

She entered the school and it had a different feel to it when it was deserted like this, when it was dark outside. She made her way backstage to the room where she knew her fellow glee club members would be waiting. Quinn had never been backstage before. She'd also never been on the stage before. This was going to be her first time. As she walked into the room, everyone who was there already stared at her. Artie, Puck, Finn, and their new lead singer April all weren't there yet, but everyone else was warming up with Brad helping on the piano. She could tell the whole glee club was looking at her like they knew she was pregnant. She could swear she saw Kurt's eyes drift towards her abdomen. She tried to ignore it and joined in the warm ups.

The last remaining people arrived, including a drunk April in a very different pink cowgirl outfit with gold trim. She complimented Quinn's shirt before planting a kiss on Puck. The woman was quite entertaining, and Quinn laughed a bit at her ridiculousness. Before long the club was heading onto a stage with a nice backdrop complete with a painting of a cactus, and a few members of the school's band were already waiting there on the stage, ready to start accompanying them as soon as the curtains were opened.

Quinn was paired up with Puck for this number yet somehow she didn't feel uncomfortable. Since Puck's harsh words to her at her locker a couple of weeks ago, he hadn't done a single mean thing to her, and she placed her hand in his arm, posing for the start of the song. The music started, and on cue Quinn started dancing around Puck. For the beginning of this song, he was supposed to be the focus of her attention according to their choreography. Quinn stepped to the beat and sang the words of this fun ridiculous Carrie Underwood song. Puck twirled her surprisingly gracefully. For the second verse, Quinn stepped back and kept dancing in the background, letting Puck be the subject of April's attention briefly. April directed her solo at multiple different male members of their group. April was pretty amazing, and as she finished singing her last note the crowd gave them a standing ovation. Quinn took off her hat and threw it into the audience playfully.

They all went back into the room behind the stage to get changed for their next number. Quinn turned her back to everyone and changed smoothly and quickly, secretly hoping that maybe Finn cared to glance at her black bra. Once she was finished, she turned back around and noticed that Finn was struggling with his tie. Quinn thought he looked so cute. She stepped towards him and reached for it, starting to help him tie it, but she was interrupted by Mr. Schue announcing that April was gone and their second act was canceled. Quinn would hate to admit it, but she was disappointed. Then Rachel showed up and it seemed like she was going to save them all, and they would be able to go on after all. However, Quinn felt torn. She looked up at Finn and saw him staring at her in a way that made her uneasy. Finn was going to be the perfect father to her baby, and Finn loved her, but it seemed like he liked Rachel anyway, despite all that. She wished Rachel would just go away.

"I know all the words to the song," Rachel said, but Quinn wasn't going to just stand there and not even _try_ to stop her.

"You don't know the choreography," Quinn told her. She hoped maybe Rachel would realize this was a legitimate issue and reason for her to not go on tonight. However, Finn was still staring at her.

"Then we're gonna have to give her a lot of help out there," he said in response to Quinn, but he continued looking at Rachel the whole time. Then he gave Rachel a really sweet smile. Quinn didn't just feel jealous anymore. She felt a bit defeated.

They went out and sang "Somebody to Love" with Quinn staying in the back most of the time. She tried to concentrate on singing with the best possible diction and remembering all of the choreography. She also tried not to let the fact that Rachel was back to singing romantic duets with Finn bother her.

* * *

A few weeks later, Quinn was finally at peace with the fact that the glee club all knew her secret. It was an unspoken agreement amongst them all, even that selfish Berry, to keep it a secret for her, and for that she was grateful. The rest of the school had no idea. Quinn was slightly surprised that Santana hadn't been mean enough to blab it to the rest of the Cheerios, nor Brittany too stupid. Quinn considered the possibility that perhaps she'd underestimated the strength of her friendships with them.

Quinn danced and sang in glee club every day. She also continued to go to Cheerios practice a couple of times a week, but she noticed it was becoming a bit more difficult to do the formations; the pregnancy was already taking a noticeable toll on her despite the fact that she wasn't showing at all yet. The cheerleading season was almost over, she willed herself to be able to make it til the end without Sue suspecting anything. Yet despite how desperate Quinn was to not let it show, Coach Sylvester noticed her legs quivering in practice one day this week. Quinn was leaving the field and Sue caught her and asked if she was feeling alright. Quinn blamed it on being tired from glee club. Luckily Sue seemed to believe it.

Quinn _was_ a bit more tired than usual, but it probably wasn't glee club's fault. Everyone in glee club was exhausted. Quinn noticed Artie yawning and Tina actually having trouble keeping her eyes open. Mr. Schue accused everyone of "sleepwalking" on him as he tried to lead them in a new dance number. Everyone had gotten lazy after he'd informed them that the competition at sectionals would only be deaf kids and criminal girls who wouldn't care to try to win. Finn just kept staring at Quinn's torso. She didn't even have to guess where his thoughts were focused. He obviously couldn't care less about glee club.

Mr. Schue decided to make the club split into teams of boys vs. girls and compete by performing mash-ups. Rachel started storyboarding their choreography immediately and picked out the song and costumes for everyone. Rachel told the rest of the girls to all go out and buy a yellow sunshine-like dress if they didn't already have one. Quinn did not enjoy the prospect of being told exactly what to wear and how to dance by that girl, so she decided not to even show up to the first rehearsal. She had to exercise and get her leg strength back up to par so that Miss Sylvester wouldn't see her tremble again anyway. Quinn went into the basement of her house where there were a few pieces of exercise equipment after school and worked up a sweat for an hour and a half.

At lunch the next day, Quinn noticed that Finn had bought an ice cream and she assumed he was being nice and had gotten it for her. She had mentioned to him in the morning that she'd been craving something sweet. But when he started to eat it himself, she realized he had not gotten it for her at all, and she got really mad at him.

"You don't need ice cream!" she yelled. "You should be considerate enough to not eat ice cream in front of me," she scoffed.

Finn apologized. "Can I buy you two ice creams now to make up for it?" he asked. Quinn then realized how silly she was being..

"I'm sorry," she told Finn, "I was probably overreacting," she said, looking down at her tray of food. "You know I love you," she said, looking up at him. He smiled, relieved. They finished up their lunches.

After lunch, the boys were about to perform, and Quinn was holding hands with Finn as they walked toward the room.

"So what songs did you guys end up mashing up?" Quinn asked, moderately curious.

"'It's My Life' by Bon Jovi, and also that song 'Confessions: Part II'," Finn replied, sounding proud of their selections. Quinn halted.

"What? You're singing 'Confessions: Part II'?" Quinn tried to keep her hysteria down to a near whisper. "A song all about how you got a girl pregnant?"

"Yeah. It was Puck's idea. So?"

"So?" Quinn was mortified. She did not want to be in the room as the entire glee club was being reminded loud and clear of her situation. She shook her head and her eyes darted around, thinking quickly.

"I don't understand," Finn said to her, concerned by her panicked expression. "What about this song choice is making you freak out? I thought it was catchy and upbeat..." Finn trailed off, seemingly a bit hurt by her disapproval.

"Nothing," she mumbled. "Go on, good luck. Have fun," she told him, retreating back to where they came from. She motioned with her hand that he should keep going forward and head toward the room. Finn just looked very confused.

Quinn hid out in the bathroom until their number would be over, then slowly returned to the hallway where Mercedes and Tina ran up to her.

"You _have_ to rehearse with us after school, _and_ tomorrow morning before school." Mercedes informed her.

"Y-y-yeah," Tina stammered in agreement. "The boys were r-r-really amazing!"

"You really missed one hell of a performance," Mercedes added.

"Whatever," Quinn replied. "I'll see if I can make it," she said noncommittally. Mercedes and Tina looked disappointed.

Quinn headed toward her locker. She had just barely gotten out her binder when Rachel came up to her.

"I haven't seen you at glee rehearsals," she said simply. Quinn was surprised that Rachel didn't sound angry.

"I'm not superwoman," Quinn explained. "I know glee is your whole life, but I have the Cheerios, I'm on honor roll, I have friends." She turned away from Rachel and started walking.

"You don't have to be embarrassed," Rachel told her, and Quinn hesitated. "No one at glee is gonna judge you." Quinn thought about it and slowly turned back around to face Rachel again. "Look, I know everyone expects us to be enemies and be in competition, but... I don't hate you."

"Why not?" Quinn asked her somewhat harshly. "I've been _awful_ to you," she reminded her.

"That was before you knew what it felt like to be me," Rachel replied. "An outsider." Quinn looked out into the hallway, hoping no one would hear the words coming out of Rachel's mouth. "More people are gonna start finding out about this," Rachel continued, "and you're gonna need friends who can relate."

"How can you relate to what I'm going through?" Quinn asked, almost rhetorically. Of course Rachel had no clue what it was like to be in her shoes. It was practically offensive to act like she could relate on any level.

"You don't think people whisper about me in the lunch rooms or draw pornographic pictures of me on the bathroom walls?" Rachel asked. Quinn realized she had a point, and surprisingly felt a little guilty about the drawing she'd added to the wall of the bathroom after one bout of morning sickness the previous week.

"That was me, actually," Quinn admitted.

"Look. I don't agree with the choice you're making but you're gonna need glee. Alright? You have seven months of your youth left, you should enjoy it!" Quinn wondered how Rachel knew how far along she was. Maybe she'd asked Finn. "And let's face it; in a couple of months that cheerleading uniform isn't gonna fit and we're gonna be all you have left." Quinn looked down at the skin tight uniform on her body. All of Rachel's points were really good ones. "Just. Come back to practice," Rachel requested. "Boys versus girls, it's fun and we could certainly use your voice right now. You're actually a good singer, Quinn." Quinn wished Rachel wasn't being so damn nice to her right then. It was making it hard to remember all the reasons she despised the girl. "Occasionally sharp, but that's just because you lack my years of training." Okay, well maybe Quinn could kind of remember.

"I would have tortured you if the roles were reversed, you know," Quinn told her honestly. She felt awful but it was true.

"I know," Rachel replied, remarkably understanding. She softly smiled and started to walk away, and Quinn followed her with her eyes.

Quinn considered what just happened. Maybe she had misjudged Rachel. Maybe Rachel wasn't going to try to steal away Finn after all. Maybe Rachel could end up being a good friend to have. Quinn realized a big part of why she had been avoiding as many glee rehearsal things as possible _was_ because she was embarrassed, Rachel was right. However, Rachel was also correct to point out that no one at glee would be critical the way the rest of the school would be – the glee club was really nonjudgmental and accepting and understanding, they hadn't done anything to her yet, why was she so afraid? She smiled to herself, thinking about Rachel again. That girl was very unique. Quinn used to hate her for all of her quirks, but now... maybe the things that made her odd weren't all necessarily bad.

Quinn went to the girls' mash-up rehearsal meeting after school and Rachel was back to being more like herself – a little more crazy and obsessed with the importance of glee. But Quinn was more patient with her now that she'd seen the softer, sweeter, more normal side of Rachel, and she just let Rachel keep going on and on about how they had to up their game. Rachel had been berating everyone for wanting to just "wing it" when Kurt walked in and helpfully informed them that everyone on the boys' team had taken drugs in order to be that energetic and impressive. Drugs. They were over the counter and just decongestants but _still_... Quinn was a bit shocked that all the boys had taken them just to enhance their performance. Quinn was even more shocked the next morning to discover that all the girls were going to take them too so that they'd "level the playing field".

Mrs. Schuester was the new school nurse, Quinn discovered. The woman still scared Quinn a bit and Quinn was not at all sure that she really had any knowledge on whether it was safe to be giving everyone these pills. But again, Terri seemed like she knew what she was talking about when she handed Quinn folic acid and whispered to her that it would be good for her baby. Quinn wanted to believe that this woman wasn't as crazy as she seemed. Quinn still was considering letting her become the adoptive mother of her child. The girls all left the nurse's office to get changed into their yellow dresses and prepare for their number.

As they sang and danced, Quinn felt more alive and happy than she had in a while; the song choice was invigorating and any extra energy the little pills may have given the other girls was contagious and Quinn felt like she had taken the drug as well. Quinn noticed Finn smiling at them, and she thought about how lucky she was to have him as she sang the lyrics which seemed surprisingly fitting.

_I used to think maybe you loved me._

_Now baby I'm sure._

And after Rachel's speech to her at her locker the previous afternoon, Quinn really could see Rachel's halo too. Quinn finally saw that there was something more to that girl, something actually sweet and nice about her. When they finished their mash-up, Mr. Schue high-fived them all. Quinn was so happy that he was pleased with their performance. She laughed before quickly running off with all the other girls to change out of their dresses. As she pulled her Cheerios uniform back on, she realized that as much as she loved glee, it wouldn't be enough for her. She really loved being on the Cheerios. She pulled her hair back up into a ponytail. She didn't want to give up cheerleading for good.

As she returned to the hallway, she noticed Finn looking really beat, which seemed to be the norm lately. He seemed to be even more overwhelmed by her pregnancy than she was, and she felt guilty. He was such a great guy, and he didn't deserve all of this. Quinn made up her mind. She noticed Terri walking in her direction and decided now would be a good time to tell her what she'd decided.

"Mrs. Schuester, I need to talk to you." Quinn leaned in closer to her then whispered, "About the baby."

"Is everything okay?" Terri whispered back, as they turned a corner and started walking together. "Wait- you're not having it right now, are you?"

"What? No! Aren't you supposed to be a nurse?" Quinn looked quizzically at her.

"Mmm-hmm." Quinn walked a couple of steps ahead and turned so that she was facing Terri.

"I've been thinking about your offer." Terri breathed in with excited anticipation.

"Yeah?" Terri asked hopefully.

"I like my life," Quinn said, looking away briefly in thought. "I like being a cheerleader... and I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I really like being in glee club. I have all of these great things in my life and it already feels like too much." Quinn looked around nervously. "I can't raise a baby," she whispered. Terri looked around nervously too before replying, also in a whisper.

"You know, honestly, I don't even know how you kids do it nowadays. I mean I- I didn't have it this bad when I was your age. I mean there weren't as many TV channels either, though." Quinn wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Is Finn okay with this? 'Cause, you know, I don't want any baby daddy drama when you hand it over to me." Quinn nodded.

"He's the reason I'm doing this. He's such a good guy and he internalizes all this pressure. He's gonna have a heart attack!" Terri smiled at her. "I don't want Mr. Schuester to find out about this, though," Quinn continued. "I don't want to hurt him either."

"Oh your secret's safe with me," Terri assured her. "I have a lot more to lose."

"One more thing," Quinn said. "You know how you gave me those vitamins for the baby?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"I really appreciated that. But I'm gonna have all these doctor's bills, and I'm gonna need some new maternity clothes-"

"You want money from me?" Terri interrupted.

"It's gonna be _your baby_ ," Quinn justified.

"Which means I'm gonna be paying the bills for eighteen years," Terri replied. "I think you can handle nine months. Look, you're making the right call here Quinn." Quinn was a bit surprised by how rudely Terri was dismissing her plea for monetary aid. "It's what's best for everybody." Terri smiled widely and then walked away, leaving Quinn just standing there, feeling a bit unsure that she'd made the right call after all.


	6. Quinn's Jealousy Hits a Boiling Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always really appreciate my betas. At the beginning of chapter 1 I mentioned how I had 3 betas for the first 5 chapters of the fic. Well, now starting with chapter 6, klaineisforeverstrong had to leave being my beta permanently, but both The_Imperfectionist and Waiting_To_Be_Broken remained my betas through chapter 10! Waiting_To_Be_Broken didn't reply to an email of mine for like a week when I was waiting for chapter 8 to be beta-ed, so that one was only betaed by The_Imperfectionist. But Chapters 6, 7, 9, and 10 were done by both of them. ;)

At glee club rehearsal the following day, Mr. Schue informed them all that because of the decongestant debacle, Sue Sylvester had been appointed as the new glee club co-director. Quinn hated the idea of this. Everyone in glee club knew that she was pregnant; what if someone accidentally let it slip while Sue was around? Quinn also prayed that she wouldn't get any morning sickness. She didn't want anything to tip Sue off, or make her suspicious.

Quinn texted Finn and asked him to meet up with her after school. She told him about the doctor's appointment she'd scheduled and asked him to please accompany her.

"Of course," he replied.

"Thanks." She smiled gratefully. "So... I was thinking that maybe it'd be better for both of us if we don't have to raise it ourselves," she said hesitantly.

"What... exactly... do you mean?" Finn asked nervously, unsure of how to take that statement.

"I mean... giving our baby away for adoption kinda sounds like a good option, doesn't it?" She looked up at him hopefully.

"Oh," Finn said. "I hadn't really thought about it, but yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. If that's what you think would be best... I'm okay with whatever you want to do, Quinn." He smiled at her sweetly. A part of her hated being given the whole responsibility for this decision, but another part of her was really glad Finn wasn't stopping her from doing whatever she ultimately thought would be best. Puck actually was being surprisingly helpful at letting her stay in control too. Puck was allowing the whole glee club to continue to believe the baby was Finn's, when he easily could have made her life so much worse by telling everyone the truth. She realized she was very grateful that Puck hadn't ruined that.

"Okay, so I'll look into some adoption agencies and try to figure out what to do," she fibbed, because she knew the thing between her and Terri would have to remain a secret- a secret that she kept from everyone, even Finn. Finn talked to Will too often, and he'd already proven that he wasn't the greatest at keeping big things secret.

Friday came, and Sue was too busy that day to join the glee club in her co-directing duties. However, immediately after glee club and before Cheerios practice, Coach Sylvester called a meeting between her top three cheerleaders – Quinn, Santana, and Brittany. She informed them that she wanted to pit the club against one another, so Quinn (more out of old habit than a true desire to help Sue destroy the glee club) told Sue that the minority students were feeling ignored.

On Tuesday after school, Finn asked Mr. Schuester to drive him and Quinn to their sonogram appointment. Quinn had inadvertently freaked Finn out by telling him how important it would be that nothing be wrong with the baby, because most adoptive parents only want flawless babies with no birth defects or anything. He didn't think he'd be able to drive and so he'd asked for their teacher's help. Will kindly had accepted and looked at them both with pity as he led them to his little blue car. They drove in silence for a few minutes before Will turned on his favorite radio station that played mainly songs from the 80's. Quinn largely ignored the lyrics of the songs and instead focused on preparing herself to feel detached from her baby. She already felt like she loved the little person growing inside her. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to really give it away to the Schuesters, and seeing the sonogram of it, hearing its heartbeat... this would be the first real test to see how she felt. To see if she'd _really_ be strong enough to do what was best for everyone and let her baby belong to someone else.

When they got to the doctors, they signed in and all three of them took seats in the waiting room. Quinn started filling out a history. No she didn't have a history of heart disease. No she didn't smoke or drink. She turned the page, and they were asking things like was she considering abortion - "No" she quickly checked. Did she want to know the sex of the baby? She considered for half a second. "Yes." She really was curious, and hated having to call it an "it" all the time. She nervously checked the "no insurance" box. She turned in the forms at the desk, and then a few minutes later a nurse called out, "Quinn Fabray?"- it was time. Finn and Quinn got up and held hands nervously, heading towards where the nurse was indicating. Quinn glanced at Will and he smiled back at her encouragingly.

The nurse told Finn to sit down on the stool and asked Quinn to lie down. The doctor would be in to see her shortly.

"Let's get this over with," the doctor grumbled as soon as she arrived. She started getting the ultrasound machine warmed up and grabbed the bottle of jelly to put on Quinn's stomach.

"I'm freaking out," Quinn whispered to Finn. He was holding her hand so tightly, and she appreciated it but his anxiety was probably making her even more nervous.

"Everything's gonna be fine," he assured her in a slightly shaky voice.

"Relax," the doctor chimed in, "at your age there's very little chance of anything being wrong."

"Awesome," Finn said.

"Okay this is gonna be a little cool to the touch," the doctor mentioned as she put some jelly on the thing that would be touching Quinn's skin momentarily.

"Can you just... be careful with my uniform?" Quinn requested, not wanting any of that gross jelly to permanently stain it or something.

"Alright," the lady replied. "Speaking of your ages, have you two given any thought to what you're gonna do after the baby is born?"

"Whatever Quinn wants is fine," Finn told her. Quinn was concentrating on staying still while the doctor was trying to read the sonogram.

"Well, if it makes a difference, it's a girl." Quinn looked at Finn, gauging him for his reaction. He seemed shocked that the baby had a gender at all. Shocked that it was a real little person inside of her. Granted, it did feel more real to Quinn too now that her baby was no longer simply an "it". Finn kissed her hand.

"So there are no problems?" Quinn asked nervously.

"Yeah you're fine," the doctor replied, acting like she wouldn't have bothered to mention the lack of birth defects had Quinn not asked. "So, Finn was it?"

"Yeah?"

"Step back out into the waiting room for just a couple minutes, please."

"Uh, sure," he replied, letting go of Quinn's hand. Once Finn was gone, the doctor told Quinn she needed to do a brief pelvic exam. She asked Quinn if she'd ever had one before. Quinn shook her head "no".

"You're really supposed to start seeing a gynecologist as soon as you start having sex," the doctor admonished, her eyes rolling with so much judgment. Quinn did not like the way this doctor was acting around her, so critical of her. Weren't doctors supposed to be understanding and try to make their patients feel comfortable? Suddenly Quinn jumped back a bit, startled by the touch on her private area. "Relax." Quinn took a deep breath. "So, Quinn, I have some standard questions that I need to ask you," the doctor asked, while still feeling around down there. "You're not in an abusive relationship, are you?"

"What? No!" Quinn was shocked by the question. How could anyone suspect Finn of being abusive?

"So he didn't tamper with your birth control, or rape you, or threaten you so that you felt coerced to have this baby – or to have an abortion?"

"What? No!" Quinn defended her boyfriend vehemently. "Finn is the sweetest guy ever! He would _never_ -"

"Okay," the doctor replied, sounding bored. "I'm done," she said, taking her gloves off and throwing them into the bio-hazard waste bin. "On your way out please pick up one of those pamphlets by the front desk on proper prenatal care stuff. It's just diet, vitamin, and exercise recommendations. We'll bill you in the mail for the sonogram in a couple weeks." Quinn tensed up, horrified immediately by the thought of her parents finding that in the mail. _Why_ had she stupidly written her real address on those forms? She should have known they'd be using it for something. She berated herself mentally for a second, and then remembered something she wanted to request before leaving.

"Um, could I please have a copy of the sonogram video?" she asked. She wasn't sure why it mattered, it's not like she would be able to interpret the blobs on her own anyway, but she really wanted a copy of that video just the same.

"Oh, yeah." The doctor got the recording out of the machine and handed it to her.

* * *

"Q! Here! Now!" Sue screamed at Quinn, calling her away from warming up with Brittany and Santana. "Where are my Cheerios?" Quinn ran over to her.

"Coach Sylvester, they're not academically eligible. Mr. Schuester flunked them." Quinn and Santana were the only cheerleaders at that school who actually were smart enough to remain academically eligible for sports. Brittany was just smart enough to know to always copy from someone smarter – usually Santana. Everyone else had been sliding through unfairly despite clearly failing all of their assignments, and Quinn felt a bit proud to be finally recognized as legitimately good at her schoolwork unlike the rest of her teammates.

In Spanish class that afternoon, they had a test. It was an open book assignment, which meant that it was quite difficult, so difficult that Mr. Schue thought letting the kids look at their books while taking it would be fair. While Quinn was trying to concentrate on it and get a good grade, Finn passed her a note. Quinn wondered why he wasn't working harder on the test. He then whispered his explanation to her about how the name he'd written on the little folded up piece of paper would be the best baby name of all time, even more original than Gwyneth Paltrow's kid's name "Apple". Quinn unfolded the note. He'd written the name "Drizzle" and started explaining how it's just so awesome when it's only drizzling but not really raining.

"Are you a moron?" she whispered back at him. "We're _not_ naming our baby 'Drizzle'," she explained forcefully. She was really pissed at Finn right then. "We're not naming our baby anything!" She shoved the note into some other pages of her book to hide it, so that if Mr. Schue looked at her desk he wouldn't suspect her of cheating. As she was trying her best to avoid getting caught in what would look like cheating to Mr. Schuester, Brittany tried to surreptitiously steal away Quinn's entire test. "Finish your test, Finn," Quinn ordered. She turned to see Brittany trying to copy all of her answers off the stolen test. "Would you give me my test back?" Quinn asked Brittany, annoyed, while snatching it back away from her, again desperately hoping not to get in any trouble. All this talking and paper exchanging during a test was likely to get all three of them expelled if they weren't careful!

"I just don't understand anything," Brittany explained pathetically.

"That's not my problem," Quinn retorted in a harsh whisper. She went back to trying to conjugate verbs in the correct tense for the test. Her mind was now elsewhere though. She wondered what the Schuesters would choose to name her daughter. Something much less obnoxious than "Drizzle", hopefully. She wished she could name the baby herself. But she knew if she even considered baby names, she would be getting too attached. The baby growing inside of her wasn't her daughter anymore. It was going to be Will and Terri Schuester's daughter. She closed her eyes tightly. When she opened them, she would be back to concentrating on her test.

She turned in her test just in time because right then the bell rang. She immediately left the classroom, trying to get away from Finn. She was still pretty angry with him. He caught up to her right away though, so she told him what was on her mind.

"You are _so_ _insensitive_! Bringing up baby names to me when you _know_ I don't want to keep it." Well, that was kind of a lie. She really did _want_ to keep it. "I _can't_ keep it," she corrected herself. Finn tried to defend himself.

"I- I know, but I don't get what you expect me to do about it!"

"Not have an opinion," she suggested. Okay, maybe _she_ was the one being insensitive now, but she didn't care.

"Hey, this is happening to me too!" Finn yelled. They were having a pretty public fight in the school hallway.

"No, it's not!" Quinn retorted, also yelling, her voice breaking a bit. She quickly turned around to face him. She lowered her voice. "You're not the one whose _parents_ will _burn_ her like a witch if they find out." She quickly opened her locker and turned back away from him to look in it.

"You know, sometimes I wish you were a little more like Rachel," Finn said. Quinn couldn't believe he just said that. That really hurt. She turned to him slowly, hoping maybe he'd look like he regretted saying that.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah," Finn insisted, not regretting having said that one bit. "She cares about my feelings and she sticks up for me." Quinn couldn't believe he was doing this to her, listing off how Rachel was so amazing. "She sticks up for both of us!" He glanced around and then quietly continued, "You know that she gave that Jacob kid a pair of her underpants just to keep him from posting on his blog about you being pregnant?" Quinn sighed and shook her head. How could Finn be so naive?

"You think she did that for me? Just to be a good teammate?"

"Yeah, that's what she told me," Finn answered. Quinn just shook her head a little.

"I know some guys cheat on their wives or pregnant girlfriends," she said. "Just don't do it with her." She slammed her locker shut and then quickly walked away from him. So that Jacob kid knew about her? She was terrified. It would only be a matter of time before everyone in the school knew. Before Sue knew and kicked her off the Cheerios. Before her parents found out. Quinn prayed to God. She needed some help to make things go her way, just for a little while longer. She needed it desperately.

Sue called another "operation destroy glee club" meeting with her top cheerleader, Quinn, who was also of course in glee now as a spy. Sue had already split up the team into white kids versus minorities (plus Artie and Kurt). But now Sue was asking Quinn to make Puck and Brittany feel like minorities at their next rehearsal. She agreed to try her best. Sue told Quinn exactly what to say.

The next day, everyone texted each other and knew to meet in Mr. Schuester's rehearsal room early for a fun little jam session without the teachers. Both halves of the club missed each other. While they sang and danced just for fun Quinn was reminded of just how amazing glee club really was. These kids really all were her friends now. When she'd signed up, she had only wanted to spy for Sue and to keep Rachel away from her boyfriend, but now she really was enjoying herself every single time they sang together. Before long though, Sue's half of the club had to leave and Will Schuester handed the remaining non-minority kids sheet music for their song that he thought would be perfect for Sectionals.

Of course it was a love song, and of course Rachel and Finn would be singing it to each other, staring longingly into each other's eyes while they sang it. Quinn just sang background vocals and resisted the urge to violently attack Rachel, and maybe Finn while she was at it. When they were done she planted the seeds to make Puck and Brittany feel discriminated against per Sue's request. She wished she could have just made Rachel feel like she should leave instead.

That evening, Quinn was sitting at her little desk in her bedroom, doing her homework. The doorbell rang, and Quinn listened carefully to try to hear who it was.

"Aw my little Gabi!" Quinn could hear her mother squealing in joy. Apparently Gabrielle had come over for a surprise visit. Quinn was desperate to tell her sister everything, but she was afraid Gabi might not be supportive. What if Gabi betrayed her and told her parents? What if Gabi looked at her differently? Quinn went downstairs to greet her sister and was embraced with such a wonderful, sweet hug. She didn't want to risk losing that kind of love from her sister. Gabi then followed Judy into the living room where Russel was sitting. Quinn followed. Her sister walked over to the stereo and put on Reba McEntire's _Starting Over_ album for them all to listen to while she shared pictures from her recent trip to the east coast. Gabi pointed to a picture of her husband trying on a hilarious souvenir hat, and everyone laughed at the sight, all four of them agreeing that it was quite funny.

Quinn savored the family moment. She considered the fact that her family was bound to find out about her pregnancy soon, what with the whole school about to find out from some idiot like Jacob, or perhaps that bill coming in the mail. Quinn thought sadly that the four of them might never bond happily together like this again. She was sure she would be outcast from the group as soon as they found out. Even if Gabi still accepted her, which Quinn wasn't sure she would... Quinn knew her parents wouldn't. As Gabi continued to flip through her photos, Quinn listened to the pleasant country music being played in the background – country music always made Quinn think fondly of her family and their love for this genre of music regardless of the bad reputation it had for most people living in Ohio. She tried to hold onto the pleasant feeling for the rest of the evening. Eventually Quinn said goodbye to Gabi and then had to go to bed.

The next morning, Quinn woke up to find a text from Terri Schuester on her phone.

_Meet me at Sheets & Things this morning. It's URGENT._

Quinn didn't have time for this before school! She rolled her eyes and showered in only half the time she usually did, and then skipped breakfast, even though she knew that would be bad for the baby. Quinn thought it was more important for her baby to make sure Terri Schuester would still be willing to adopt it, so she did what she'd asked and drove straight to Sheets & Things. Maybe Terri Schuester just wanted to pick out linens and stuff for the baby's room? Quinn hoped this wasn't something that could have waited til after school.

"Yay! You're here!" Terri called out to her as soon as she saw Quinn's car pull up. Terri was wearing the employee uniform, complete with an apron and nametag, and she had been waiting out front for Quinn to arrive. Quinn now understood why they were meeting here. Mrs. Schuester worked here!

"What's this about?" Quinn asked as politely as she could muster. She couldn't resist glancing behind Terri toward the inside of the store, looking for a clock. She didn't want to be late for school! Quinn then noticed Terri's face. She looked a bit like a deer caught in headlights. _Oh no,_ Quinn thought. "Did Mr. Schuester... find out?" She motioned toward Terri's fake pregnant belly.

"Oh no!" she assured Quinn. "He's still clueless... but he won't be for long!" Terri looked really scared. Quinn should have known this plan wouldn't work out.

"What do you mean? What makes you so sure he'll find out you've been... lying to him?" Quinn asked hesitantly.

"Well, he insisted he wants to come to one of my doctor's appointments, and even scheduled one for me – it's only two days from now!"

"Oh," Quinn replied.

"I have a plan though," Terri explained, and Quinn just stood there, ready to hear it. "Will told me he took you to your ultrasound, right?"

"Right..." Quinn was unsure of where this was leading.

"So please tell me you have a video of it!" Quinn jumped back in response to Terri's forcefulness.

"Uh... yeah. I do." Quinn was still leaning back slightly, a bit scared.

"Okay perfect! So my sister and I are going to convince my OB to use that tape of yours and convince Will that it's _his_ daughter he's seeing. Okay? Will mentioned you're having a girl. Right?"

"Uh... yeah." Quinn was a bit nervous. Will was bound to find out his wife was lying and not really pregnant, and he'd probably stop being so nice at school once he realized Quinn was helping keep his wife's secret. "Yeah, I can give you the tape, sure. Um... when?" Quinn asked.

"Could you stop by here again tomorrow morning with it?" Terri asked, referring to the Sheets & Things parking lot. Quinn nodded.

"Sure." Quinn started walking back to her car, hoping she wouldn't be late for school. "I really hope this actually works," she muttered to herself.

When Quinn got to school, barely on time, she noticed Rachel Berry in the hallway at her locker trying to covertly stare at Finn, obviously crushing on him ridiculously hard. The school day had barely started, but Quinn was already fed up with everyone. Between Terri's plan that was bound to fail and Rachel clearly wishing she could win Finn over, Quinn was in a really bad mood. She stormed over to Rachel and slammed her locker door on her.

"Listen here, Treasure Trail," Quinn started harshly. "We're about to have a smackdown."

"I don't want to have a confrontation," Rachel replied, trying to escape Quinn. As soon as she started walking away, however, Quinn grabbed her arm violently.

" _Don't_ play stupid with me, Stubbles. I'm having Finn's baby, and you need to _back off_. I'm asking you as _nicely_ as I possibly can. Leave him alone." Quinn stared right into Rachel's eyes with so much fury. Rachel didn't shy away though. She kept staring back at Quinn, pursing her lips and shrugging slightly.

"You're right," Rachel admitted. "I've helped you not because it's the right thing to do, but because I had romantic ulterior motives." Quinn wasn't sure how to react to this honesty coming from Rachel. It was a bit frustrating because it meant her worst suspicions were definitely true, even though Quinn did already know that. But then Rachel's tone of voice got a bit confrontational too. "But just so we're clear," she explained, " _you're_ the one who's _cheating_." Rachel rolled her eyes in extreme judgment and started to walk away. Quinn was horrified. This was the worst day ever and first period hadn't even begun yet! How the hell did Rachel Berry find out that she'd slept with Puck?

" _Excuse_ me?" Quinn retorted vehemently, following Rachel as she tried to walk away from her.

"I have on good authority that you're Sue Sylvester's mole and you can deny it all you want but I _know_ it's true." Oh. So Rachel meant cheating in _that_ way. Quinn tried to keep up her look of indignation even though in reality she was beyond relieved.

"Oh I have _no_ idea what you're talking about," Quinn defended herself.

"Sue's not on your side, Quinn. She's not on anyone's side but her own!" Rachel started heading up the stairs now, and Quinn was still following her. "Can you imagine what she's gonna do when she finds out about your situation? She'll probably try to rip off your uniform with her _bare hands_!" Quinn knew she had a point, she'd honestly been thinking the same thing for weeks. "Every time you whisper in her ear, you empower her to do more damage to the glee club. And right now? Glee club is all you have." Quinn hated when Rachel made such good points like this. She didn't know why she had still been helping Sue this whole time. She didn't want to hurt the glee club, she really didn't. "And if I were you, I'd recognize who my _true_ friends are. Oh," Rachel continued on her little speech, scoffing, "and I'd practice a little bit more, because you obviously have a _lot_ you need to _express_ ," she finished.

"Oh you have _no_ idea," Quinn replied. She walked away from Rachel towards her first class for the day, and considered what song would best express her feelings right now. She was still pissed at Rachel for wanting her boyfriend, but even more upset with Finn for clearly wanting her back. Quinn considered one of the songs she'd heard last night in her living room – Reba had covered the song "You Keep Me Hangin' On", and Quinn realized just how perfectly many of the lyrics fit her feelings toward Finn at that moment. Quinn let herself daydream and imagine singing the song in an elaborate performance involving her singing the solo and many members of the cheerios dancing around her as back-up singers. Quinn felt so strongly that Finn didn't really love her. And it was killing her. While she wasn't sure that she _really_ wanted Finn to "set her free," she still thought, briefly, that maybe if he did things might, in some ways, be easier for her.


	7. Keep Holding On

After Quinn finished her homework that afternoon she went over to Finn's house for dinner, asking permission from her mother first.

"Oh sure dear, but next time give me more notice!" Judy replied kindly. "I wouldn't be heating up quite as much roast if I'd known it was just going to be me and your father for dinner."

"Yeah, sorry," Quinn apologized. She appreciated her mother letting her escape like this without much of an argument. She got in her car and drove over to the Hudson's. She was having more and more trouble every day living in a house with people who didn't know she was pregnant. Her conversations about classes or cheerleading always seemed so fake and forced with them, when all she really wanted to do was share the stress of being pregnant with them and have them magically be okay with it and wrap her up in their arms. She wanted to be sure that her parents would love her unconditionally, the way they'd always said they would.

She rang the doorbell and Carole answered. She ushered Quinn inside with a sweet smile.

"Finn didn't tell me you wanted to come over until an hour ago, so it was too late to make anything good," Carole apologized. "We're having Hamburger Helper, I hope that's okay." Quinn smiled.

"Don't worry about it, Mrs. Hudson, Hamburger Helper sounds great," she replied earnestly. It was true, having something out of a box like Hamburger Helper would be a welcome break from her usual perfect homemade dinners. Carole headed toward the stove while Finn and Quinn sat down at the kitchen table – a contrast to meals in the fancy dining room in the Fabray household.

"Finn, why isn't the table set yet?" Carole scolded with the pot in one hand and a spoon in the other. She was ready to serve her son and his girlfriend, but had no dishes in front of her onto which to put the food.

"Sorry, Mom," Finn fumbled, getting up out of his chair and scrambling to grab some plates and silverware for the three of them.

They spent the next forty-five minutes at the table, talking and eating. Quinn laughed at some of the stories Carole shared from her work; she had become qualified to be a nurse a few years prior and now worked odd shifts at the local hospital. Quinn suspected that the more serious and unpleasant things she must encounter at her job she kept to herself. At one point, Finn had gotten up and found a chocolate ice cream container in the freezer that had just enough left in it for the three of them, and Quinn was a bit disappointed when the meal was over and she had to return home.

"Drive safe, Honey," Carole told her as she exited the house with Finn. He walked her to her car, and before she got into the driver's seat they kissed goodnight briefly, mindful that Finn's mother was probably watching from inside the house.

* * *

The next morning she dropped off her ultrasound DVD for Terri's fake appointment, and after that her day at school was fairly mundane. For once, Rachel didn't do anything to really piss her off, and she didn't catch Finn staring at her at all either, which was nice. All was fine and good.

Then glee time came, and Sue was being ridiculously rude to the very small non-minority "half" of the glee club. Quinn didn't really mind Rachel and Finn's romantic duet being cut short, but she wished Sue would respect the fact that her top cheerleader was about to technically perform too. Quinn had thought maybe her coach would be a bit nicer to her trusted spy. Then again, Sue didn't know that Quinn actually liked being in glee club... so... she didn't let it get to her too much. She did, however, follow the rest of the club when they decided to storm out of the auditorium and leave Mr. Schuester and Miss Sylvester alone to fight amongst themselves. Quinn agreed with what the club was saying about how the adults were acting, and she didn't feel like standing around and watching them any more than the rest of the club did.

She watched some TV that evening because she didn't have too much homework, and that helped pass the time. She went to bed, wondering how Terri's fake doctor appointment went, hoping with all her heart that her teacher was fooled.

* * *

When she returned to school she kept an eye out for Mr. Schue in the hallway, worried he might now be in the worst mood ever and about to kill not only his wife but also Quinn. She caught his eye, but to her immense relief he just smiled politely at her as he walked by, heading into the guidance counselor's office – he seemed to do that a lot, Quinn realized. Just then a voice from behind her caught her off guard, though.

"Hey," Puck greeted her in a quiet and almost nervous tone. She turned around suddenly and tensed up, remembering the last time they'd actually had a conversation and how it'd involved him almost making her cry.

"What do you want?" she asked harshly, her defenses up. Granted, it'd been a while since that upsetting encounter, and they'd sung and danced together many times since, him never once glaring at her nor saying mean things... but she was still unsure of what he was doing now, talking to her.

"I just... I'm sorry," Puck said, and he really looked like he meant it. The trouble was, Quinn wasn't sure what he was sorry _for_.

"Um..." She tried to convey her confusion. "Thank you?"

"I mean," he started to clarify, "I'm sorry you got pregnant, it's... you know... well..." He was stammering. "My fault." He looked shamefully down towards his feet. "And I'm sorry I was kinda mean to you right after I found out."

Quinn squinted at him skeptically. He seemed sincere... and sweet... and so unlike his usual self. This was the same Puck who had comforted her and told her she wasn't fat, and whom she couldn't resist kissing and ultimately sleeping with. This was a Puck that rarely was visible to anyone, and she wondered why he was showing this side of himself to her. She did appreciate it, though.

"Thanks," she said simply, unsure of what else to say. They both just stood there in the hallway for a few moments, suddenly aware that there might be people around noticing them having a conversation. "Um, so..." she trailed off, glancing back behind her towards where her homeroom classroom was located.

"Yeah, see you around, Quinn," he said, quickly turning his back towards her and walking away. She just watched him as he left, and thought about the baby inside her. She realized she didn't really mind that her daughter was going to get Noah Puckerman's genes; he wasn't as bad as most people thought.

* * *

At glee club that afternoon, they were all informed that Sue was stepping down as co-director. Everyone was relieved to be able to be one big team again – and Quinn was relieved that there would be less of a chance of Sue finding out she was pregnant this way. But then Will started listing off ways how every single one of them were minorities.

"...or that Santana is Latina, or that Quinn is-"

"pregnant," Sue finished for him.

Quinn froze in shock. How could Sue have found out? She was living a nightmare. Sue finding out had been her second biggest fear, right underneath the whole school knowing or her parents knowing. She felt Finn's eyes on her but she couldn't stop staring at Sue, waiting in painful anticipation of what she'd say next.

"Sorry, Q," Sue finally continued, taking off her glasses, "it will be all over the blogosphere by this afternoon. Now everybody knows. Including me!" Sue seemed almost... hurt by the news. Like losing her best cheerleader to pregnancy was painful for her, but only for purely selfish reasons. Quinn couldn't believe it. _Everyone_ was about to find out she was pregnant? The whole school? Sue left the room and Quinn was just left staring after her, gaping a bit. She was afraid to let the true implications of what Sue had just said sink in. Will looked down at the floor, and everyone else in the club seemed to be staring at her. She wasn't sure but from her peripheral vision it seemed that way. She needed everyone to quit that!

She quickly got up and ran out of the room, hoping no one would follow her. She went to her locker. She just wanted to grab her books and go home. She quickly twirled the dial to the correct combination, anxious to escape this place where people might already know her secret. But then before she had a chance to get anything out of her locker, Finn came up to her.

"Quinn-" he started, trying to be comforting.

"Go away, leave me alone," she interrupted in protest.

"Everything will be okay," he tried to assure her. She had no idea how that could be true, but she appreciated what he was trying to do.

"Thanks, but no, it won't!" she cried, her voice breaking a bit on the last word. She was about to lose it, and she quickly turned away from Finn and stared into her locker. Finn didn't move though, and they both just stood there for about a minute, completely still. Finn's eyes were on her the whole time, and eventually she couldn't keep her composure any longer.

She looked up at him into his eyes almost pleadingly, needing him to do something, but unsure what it was that she needed. Her eyes were coated with tears that were ready to fall. He didn't seem to know what to do either for a few seconds, and just stared back at her with sympathy on his face. But then he did the exact right thing, and wrapped his one arm around her body firmly. He moved his other hand gently to her neck. She felt very comforted in his embrace, but with that came the inability to stay strong, and so she started sobbing uncontrollably into his chest.

"It's okay," Finn soothed. "It's okay. It's okay. It's okay." She wasn't sure how many times he repeated the phrase, nor how long she was standing there in the hallway leaning on her boyfriend, crying. But eventually, Will came over and interrupted them as unobtrusively as possible.

"Hey Quinn," he said in such a sweet way. It made her realize just how much she not only hoped he would be the father of her unborn baby, but also how much she wished he was her father. She took a few deep breaths and tried to discretely wipe away her snot with the back of her wrist.

"Yes, Mr. Schue?" she replied.

"The rest of the club planned a little impromptu number, and they'd love to share it with you." He turned to Finn. "I can get you caught up to speed while we all change into some nice black and white clothes." The three of them headed backstage to the changing room where the rest of the glee club already was. Quinn looked around curiously at all of them, but none of them said a word. She slipped on the clothing as quickly as she could and looked in the mirror, trying to make sure all the traces of tears were gone from her face. She carefully pulled her little gold cross necklace out from inside of her shirt, and made sure it was still centered in her chest like it was supposed to be.

They headed onto the stage and Rachel seemed to be leading the group, pointing them all to their designated spots. She gestured for Quinn to stand in the middle of everyone. Then they all started singing what was probably the instrumental opening in the original version of the song. She thought maybe she recognized the tune, but she wasn't sure. Rachel started singing the first verse as a solo, of _course_ , but Quinn didn't mind that today. She listened to the lyrics Rachel was singing.

_You're not alone_

_Together we stand_

_I'll be by your side; you know I'll take your hand._

Quinn realized she was going to have to make quite an effort to not cry as the group sang this song to her. She joined in the background vocals and chorus, recognizing the song as one of her favorite Avril Lavigne songs from a few years back. The choreography was simple enough and she was able to follow along, and somehow she felt like they were dancing more gracefully than usual, despite the lack of planning.

Finn picked her up – or perhaps she should say "swept her off her feet" - and twirled her. She definitely thought he was dancing more gracefully than usual, and she felt so wonderful to know he was standing by her through everything. She looked up at his face and realized just how much scarier this would be if she was going through it all alone.

She looked down at Artie in his wheelchair, and he was singing the words directly to her. It was so touching to know that this nerdy kid was quickly becoming one of her best friends, someone who really cared about her. She half-laughed through her singing at how silly it was that _he_ was being so supportive of _her_. She would only be pregnant for nine months, but he would have to deal with being in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. She'd never thought about how difficult it must be to have everyone instantly notice you as different. She made a mental note to make more of an effort to appreciate Artie and all he had to go through.

The dancing got more complicated and she tried her best to follow everyone else's lead, somehow ending up with her hand on Kurt's chest, his hand on top of hers. The two of them spun around each other and she didn't even notice Finn and Rachel doing the same thing on the other side of the stage.

By the end of the song, Kurt and Finn both reached down and each took hold of one of her hands. She felt an instant surge of warmth go through her body. She could not believe how wonderfully comforting this was. She couldn't sing the last note, it was too much of an effort not to cry and she had to just concentrate on that. She took deep breaths and listened to her fellow glee club members finish the song beautifully.

_'Cause you know we'll make it through_

_We'll make it through..._

She closed her eyes and looked down. She would. She would make it through. With the whole glee club to support her, she would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With every chapter I was getting closer to some of the stuff I'd been dying to write. When I first posted this chapter, I wrote that I was excited to have finally gotten to the point where everyone in the school knows about her pregnancy. ;)
> 
> Episode 4 finished in Chapter 4, episode 7 finished in chapter 7... those worked out quite nicely. Lol. ;)


	8. Status is like Currency

Quinn pulled into her driveway, noticing an extra unfamiliar car there as she put her red car into park. When she exited the car she didn't start heading towards her house, though, but rather back down towards the end of the driveway. She wanted to intercept the mail and silently prayed to herself a few times, hoping that her mother hadn't picked it up yet. She opened the mailbox and found it empty. A curse word she'd never dare vocalize ran through her mind.

She opened the front door to her house and walked inside, hearing two female voices in the kitchen – one was obviously her mother's. She would usually leave her mother alone with her friends, but she knew when her mother got the mail she usually put it on the kitchen counter until she had time to look through it. Quinn crossed her fingers that her mother's friend being over would mean that the mail was still untouched, and any bill sent from the doctor's would not have raised suspicions yet.

She entered the kitchen and tried to get to the mail unnoticed. That, of course, didn't work.

"Quinny!" Judy exclaimed. "Aw, you look beautiful today. Why are you all dressed up?" Quinn looked down at herself and realized she was still wearing the outfit from when they'd performed "Keep Holding On".

"Oh," Quinn replied. "The glee club did a little performance after school," she explained. She felt awkward being in the kitchen with this woman she didn't know, and pursed her lips, darting her eyes over to the other adult in the room for a moment.

"Oh I'm sorry, let me introduce you," Judy said. "Quinn, do you remember Mrs. Williams?" Quinn just stood there, not reacting. She didn't remember her. "She goes to our church; her daughter is in your grade at McKinley!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Hi, Mrs. Williams," Quinn replied politely, still having no clue who this woman was. Quinn smiled politely at her.

Then Quinn thought it'd be okay to go back to her task of scouring the mail for a bill. She started leafing through it.

"Quinn, what are you doing? Expecting a letter?" Judy looked at her quizzically.

"Oh, I just was checking, but no, not _expecting_ one," she lied. There was no bill there. Nothing addressed to her, nothing from the doctor. She sighed, upset that she would have to keep doing this every day until the bill came. She wished it would just come already.

She headed up to her bedroom to do her homework for the day. It was extraordinarily hard to focus on it though, as her mind kept trailing off. What would all of the other Cheerios say? _Oh gosh,_ she thought in horror. _Will my teachers treat me differently now? They'll probably know too!_ She took way longer to finish her math problems than was usual for her because she couldn't concentrate on the formulas. When she was almost finished, and only had two problems left to solve, a wave of nausea washed over her. It had been getting worse this whole week, her "morning" sickness that happened at random and inconvenient hours of the day, every day. She wished her body would leave her alone. She sprung to her feet and ran to the bathroom, vomiting into the toilet. She tried to get the gross taste out of her mouth with some water and then finished her schoolwork.

* * *

The next morning, Quinn took a shower and noticed her breasts seemed a little bigger than they were before she was pregnant. She wondered how big they'd get once they were completely full of milk. She hoped her daughter would be okay without being breastfed... she realized this was one of the downsides of adoption. Breast milk was supposed to be good for the baby, she'd read some stuff about that online.

She pulled on her Cheerios uniform and put her hair back up into a ponytail. She knew that she couldn't stay on the Cheerios once she was really starting to show. According to the pamphlet she'd picked up from the doctor's office, it would be unhealthy to be doing such extreme exercise once she got a bit bigger. But Quinn hoped perhaps that Sue would hold onto her as long as Quinn could stay, and that maybe she'd be able to still enjoy being a cheerleader for another month or two.

She went downstairs, finding herself ravenous. Having a baby growing inside of you apparently really did make you hungrier. Her father was there eating his breakfast already – Judy had made some homemade waffles for both of them. Russell and Quinn left for school and work respectively at the same time that morning, and before parting ways, Russell kissed his youngest daughter sweetly on the cheek.

"Have a nice day at school, sweetheart," he told her. She forced a smile for his benefit. She did appreciate the sentiment. But he had no idea just how much she was dreading going to school today. She would have just stayed home; it was so tempting to delay the torment of going to the place where everyone would now know she was pregnant. However, she knew that whichever day she returned would be torturous so she figured she might as well just get it over with.

When she got to school she luckily spotted Finn immediately. She ran over to him, avoiding eye contact with anyone else. She didn't want to see the looks on anyone's faces.

"Wanna walk to glee together?" she suggested. Glee was their first class that day. He smiled in response and took her hand. They started walking, and they were almost there when suddenly Karofsky threw a slushie towards Finn's face! Before Quinn even had time to process this she'd already let go of her boyfriend's hand and started jumping away to avoid the icy cold impact. It was all over Finn though, and he was pissed as hell. He turned after the large jock and grabbed him harshly.

"What the hell, Karofsky?" he yelled.

"Oh I've wanted to do that ever since _fifth grade_ when you made fun of me for getting pubes," he explained. "And now that you've joined Lullaby-Lees and insperminated the queen of the Chastity Ball, and dropped below us hockey dudes on the food chain, it's open season."

"Screw you, Karofsky," Quinn chimed in. "You and your Neanderthal Puck-heads are nothing!"

"You're gonna pay for this, dude," Finn said, seemingly wanting to start a fight. He grabbed Karofsky's shirt violently. Karofsky was so big though that he was able to easily push Finn away.

"No I'm not," he replied. "You two don't have the juice anymore." He was staring right into Finn's eyes as he said it. "Welcome to the new world order." He then turned to look at Quinn and then scoffed at her. He walked away, leaving Quinn and Finn outraged and staring after him.

"I have a towel in my locker," Finn mentioned. "Can you get it and help get me cleaned up?" Quinn nodded and started heading towards her boyfriend's locker. He followed her. She knew the combination and quickly got it for him.

"Come on," she said, "we're gonna be late for glee. I can clean you off once we get there." She grabbed his hand and they headed toward the choir room. Finn sat down behind the drums and Quinn started cleaning him off.

"This is a disaster," Quinn said quietly as she tried to clean the grape sugar out of his hair. "Our reputation as McKinley High's 'it' couple is in _serious_ jeopardy if we don't find some way to be cool again, Finn."

Will walked in and started talking about some things being too different to mash-up well together... but the difference between them was what made them great! He brought up bacon and chocolate... and she thought that combination would usually be gross but to her currently pregnant self complete with odd cravings it was sounding delicious. Finn gave "football and glee" as an example. A clearly awful combination. Quinn figured Finn was being sarcastic, given the slushie she was still working on cleaning off of him. Will didn't get it though. He thought Finn was being serious.

Will handed out the sheet music to his personal favorite song, "Bust a Move". She tried her best to finish wiping off Finn's shirt and then headed over to near where Brittany and Santana were sitting, leaving Finn to play drums for the song. The performance started, and Mr. Schuester was the one leading them all this time. Everyone was dancing a bit, even Santana and Brittany grooving to the music in their chairs, but Quinn wasn't in the mood. She just sat and watched, but then Will came by and grabbed her hand. He made her stand up and twirled her, then grabbed her face with both of his hands. She couldn't resist smiling at this. She loved Mr. Schue so much. He really cared about his students and had only ever been so sweet to her. He was the only adult in her life right now who knew that she was pregnant and who wanted to help her in whichever way he could.

She enjoyed dancing to the rest of the number, but after glee club was over she remembered she was still considered uncool by the rest of the school. She and Finn both. Finn looked at her.

"We should go see the guidance counselor," he suggested.

"What? No way!" she tried to protest.

"No Quinn, listen to me. Miss Pillsbury has helped me before!" Quinn wondered when. "She's really kinda good at her job, I swear. And besides," he added, trying to convince her, "it really can't make things any worse, can it?"

Quinn considered his proposition. She supposed drastic times did call for drastic measures. They headed to the guidance counselor's office. Once they got there, Miss Pillsbury asked them to sit down.

"So," Emma started asking them, "how can I uh— how can I help you kids? Is it uh— too many friends on MySpace or—"

"I can't believe we're saying this," Quinn explained, "but we need some advice on how to be cool."

"Yeah," Finn agreed. "You must have picked up some ideas about what cool people do from watching them over the years," he added. Quinn wished her boyfriend wouldn't stick his foot in his mouth like that. He just called Miss Pillsbury old and uncool. Sure, Quinn knew it was true. But she also knew you don't _say_ that while in the process of asking her for advice, that's never smart. He tried to save himself though. "Not that you were never cool yourself." Emma laughed, embarrassed.

"Yeah, well uh well..." she stammered in reply. "Um... but um... you're two of the most popular kids in school." Emma seemed confused.

"We _were_ ," Quinn explained, "until we joined glee club." She glared at Finn accusingly. She wouldn't have joined glee if it wasn't for him. "That's why he got a slushie facial, I'm sure of it." She refused to believe their new lesser status could have anything to do with being pregnant and being judged for that. Because she realized that if she _was_ still considered cool, then being pregnant wouldn't make her uncool. Instead, everyone would think getting pregnant was the cool thing to do!

"Okay," Miss Pillsbury replied. "I see. Um... I don't really have any pamphlets on how to be popular..." she was trailing off, thinking out loud. "Uh okay! Right, well let's— let's talk about this. Why, why is it so important for you to be cool? Huh?" Quinn shook her head back and forth ever so slightly, a bit angry that this guidance counselor clearly was not going to be helping them. "Don't you like being in glee? It's... fun!"

So Quinn tried to explain it to the woman who had clearly never been cool her whole life. "Status is like currency. When your bank account is full, you can get away with doing just about anything." Quinn continued, "But right now we're like toxic assets. When my mom applied to college, she put being popular as her main extracurricular activity! And she got in—" Quinn hesitated, seeing that Miss Pillsbury was getting very distracted by something, "—to Arizona State!"

"Sunglasses are so sexy," Emma breathed, looking out the door to her office after someone. Quinn stared at Emma because _that_ was very random. "Sunglasses," Emma repeated, this time in a more sure tone and this time looking at the students seated in front of her. Quinn squinted slightly, still not getting what she was talking about. "Yeah," Emma continued, breathing hard and speaking fast, and waving her hands frantically as she spoke, "sunglasses are um— really, really cool. I'm always seeing, you know, celebrities wear them in um— magazines, even at night! It doesn't need to be— day. Very popular. It gives you a sense of mystery, you know. Rappers."

"Totally!" Finn replied, thinking what she'd just said was ingenious. "It's like you can't see their eyes, so they have all the power." Quinn realized he had a point. But he hadn't stopped talking. "I could be looking at your boobs and you'd have no idea." Quinn couldn't believe he just said that. She gaped at him in outrage, then elbowed him hard.

"Um," Emma was shocked by his last statement too and was all a flutter, and glanced down at her own boobs. "Um, no," she replied, pulling her sweater closed over her chest. "Kids, look. The most important thing is that you be yourselves. Okay? And if people don't like you for that, then I'm sorry but who needs 'em?" Quinn tried to take what she was saying to heart. She knew on some level that Miss Pillsbury was right. But it was so hard to accept that people might not ever think of her as cool again. She looked at Finn and he looked back at her. They were both thinking the same thing.

* * *

Quinn had nothing after school that day, so she went straight home and after sifting through the mail again and still coming up empty handed, she watched some reruns of a comedy while eating a snack before starting on her homework. During a commercial, Finn texted her and she checked her phone to read it.

_Coach is adding extra prac thur 3:30. I have 2 choose glee or fb._

Quinn couldn't leave glee, and she liked having her boyfriend in the club with her. She liked glee for a variety of reasons, but with Finn gone, she might not like it as much. However, she hoped Finn would choose football. She needed him to stay cool for her sake.

* * *

The next day in glee club, Puck sang a beautiful solo to the whole club. Well. Maybe it was directed at Rachel. She glanced at Finn and found him looking a bit too jealous for her liking. Why did her boyfriend have to be so into Rachel? She glanced at Rachel and saw her staring lovingly into Puck's eyes as he sang. She found that she didn't mind the idea of Puck and Rachel dating. In fact, if Rachel was truly in a relationship now, that would mean Rachel was, hopefully, done trying to win over Finn.

Also, Quinn noticed, Puck was being so sweet about it. The song choice, the way he sang it... the look on his face. She felt an uncontrollable feeling towards the guy who knocked her up as he strummed his guitar and sang the lyrics. She couldn't quite name the feeling, though she just stared at him as he finished the song, watching him carefully.

As they left glee club, Finn and Quinn put on their sunglasses, hoping maybe by some miracle it would work and Finn wouldn't get slushied again.

"You know," Finn said as they walked down the hallway toward their next class, "I really think this is working! I think we look super cool."

Quinn agreed. "I'm proud of you, Finn," Quinn replied. "I'm proud of us."

"Yeah," Finn added. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to be popular, it just... means you want people to like you. I think that's healthy."

Quinn nodded. "I totally agree," she said.

"Being popular just means you can have it all," Finn finished as they turned the corner. They came upon the entire football team holding slushies. Finn didn't realize that their sunglasses had failed though. He still thought he was cool again. "Oh! Hey, guys," he greeted them with a smile.

"You thirsty?" Azimio asked sarcastically. Finn thought he was seriously asking a kind question though. Quinn wished she could be as naive as Finn sometimes. The hockey team started closing in on them from behind and Finn glanced around, noticing them all carrying slushies.

"Sure," Finn replied. "Thanks." And within moments, ice cold liquid hit them from all sides. This was the first slushie that Quinn had ever experienced, and it was _horrible_! So cold it was painful, so embarrassing she thought she might die.

"You can't do this!" Finn bellowed.

"Oh, you think _that's_ bad?" Azimio replied. "Just imagine what's gonna happen if you don't show up to practice on Thursday and quit that little glee club for good. Bros before 'hi ho's, dude. Don't forget that," he finished, walking away with all of his teammates following. Quinn just stood there, shocked. She had never felt this gross before, nor this uncool. She needed to get cleaned off, and regardless of what Finn wanted, she _needed_ him to quit glee club.

Rachel saw them and immediately her eyes were drawn to Finn. Rachel had a look on her face of sheer sympathy. But then Rachel's eyes shifted to Quinn, and Quinn noticed that Rachel appeared to want to help Quinn too.

Rachel suddenly grabbed her phone and quickly texted someone. Then she looked back up at both of them. "Come on, I've gotten quite good at cleaning people up after they've been slushied," Rachel said, and she grabbed both of their hands and started dragging them towards the bathrooms. Rachel stopped, then told Finn to wait for Kurt. "He'll help you in the guys' bathroom," she explained, gesturing to the door. "He's really good at this too." Then she decided to help Quinn, ushering her inside the girl's bathroom.

"Quinn, this is your first time ever being slushied, isn't it?" Rachel asked softly. She dragged the folding chair from the side of the bathroom over to be right in front of the sink, and then gestured for Quinn to sit down. Quinn nodded and she headed over to the seat.

"Yeah, first and _last_ if I can help it!" Quinn exclaimed in annoyance. She felt nervous as she leaned back into the sink and felt Rachel's hand taking out her ponytail tie. But she let the girl expertly rinse as much of the grape drink as she could out of her hair.

"Are your eyes burning?" Rachel asked. Quinn shook her head. "Good," Rachel said, nodding. "You were lucky to be wearing sunglasses. The burning is usually the worst part." Quinn hadn't thought about that. She realized that Rachel had been slushied so many times and felt pretty bad for the girl all of a sudden.

"How many times has this happened to you?" Quinn asked softly, genuinely interested to know.

"Oh, I've lost count," Rachel replied, trying to hide the fact that it bothered her. Quinn could tell she was masking her pain though.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry this has happened to you for so long." Rachel paused what she was doing and looked into Quinn's eyes. "I had no idea that it was like this." Rachel smiled appreciatively and went back to cleaning her new friend off.

"Well, you're one of us now," Rachel replied as she wiped some slushie tenderly off Quinn's face. She said it in such an... accepting tone. The words should have felt like a knife in Quinn's gut, but the way Rachel said it... Quinn found that she didn't mind. "Do you want to wipe your... um... chest off yourself?" Rachel asked, offering the wet towel to her. Quinn laughed a little and accepted the towel, trying to get as much slushie off of her boobs as was possible.

* * *

Thursday came and Finn was going to choose football over glee. They'd discussed it already the night before. When 3:30 came and everyone in the glee club was staring at the door, waiting to see what the football players would choose, Quinn was surprised to see Mike and Matt walk in, and then even Puck! Puck was really surprising her this week, and he even hugged Rachel. They were totally dating now, Quinn realized. But when Finn didn't show up, she knew she shouldn't be surprised. Still, somehow, she felt a little tiny bit disappointed, and she wasn't sure why. Wasn't Finn quitting glee and staying in football exactly what she wanted? Now they could regain their status as popular and cool.

After glee, Quinn started to head to her locker so that she could go home. But she was stopped in her tracks by Sue, who made her take off her sunglasses. She then kicked her off the Cheerios harshly, calling her a disgrace. As her coach – now _former_ coach – walked away, Quinn just stood there, heartbroken. She knew she should have been prepared for this. She knew Miss Sylvester was likely to kick her off the team for being pregnant. But knowing that didn't soften the blow at all. And Quinn realized that regardless of what Finn's status now was, Quinn was as good as permanently bankrupt in the status department. No longer being a Cheerio meant that no one would forgive her for being pregnant, or being in glee club. She was a true loser now.

Quinn felt like her life was falling apart. She wasn't sure what she had left anymore, and while she was still standing there she started to cry. But this time Finn was busy with football practice and no one was around to comfort her. So after a few moments she swallowed her tears and forced herself to get to her car and drive home.

She got home and checked the mailbox, able to be the first to stumble upon it that day. Quinn was grateful that her mother, for some reason, wasn't home that afternoon. But alas, nothing was in the mail for Quinn to find. She went into her house and ran upstairs, quickly dropping her books off on her desk. She was about to lose it, she knew it. She went over to her bed and laid down on her stomach, burying her face in her pillow and allowing herself to finally start sobbing uncontrollably. However, she found this position uncomfortable after a few minutes, especially because of her tender breasts. So she rolled onto her side as she continued to cry. She kept crying like this for a long time, realizing after a while that part of why she was so upset about all this was probably just her hormones getting the best of her.

Eventually she was able to calm down. She went back downstairs and was eating a healthy snack of fruit when Judy finally came home.

"Hi, Mom. How was your day?" Quinn asked her, hoping to get a nice long story out of her mother. Quinn wasn't in the mood to make up any more lies about how her own day was. And luckily, this was the perfect cue for Judy, who right then got started on a long rant about how awful her day volunteering at the homeless shelter was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dad actually helped me out and was my second beta for this fic when Waiting_To_Be_Broken went MIA on me. ;) The_Imperfectionist aka Caitlin this time really helped me keep Quinn (and Rachel) in character in a few different spots, and then I had my dad be my second beta this time actually, and he caught a surprising number of mistakes and things that I needed to change. So thank you so much, Dad & Caitlin! :D
> 
> By the way, in the chapter, I had Rachel help Quinn in the bathroom clean off her first ever slushie. That was also a plot point in the show itself – when Rachel cleans off Puck's first slushie in that episode she brings up the fact that he has it a lot easier than her "and Quinn" because his head is shaved. Just the fact that Rachel brought up Quinn's name is the reason I added that whole section to my chapter 8 lol. 1:45 to 1:48 in this Faberry vid I made ("Suddenly I See") kinda is that same inspiration coming out in fanvideo form. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFQrd3uB_P8
> 
>  
> 
> Please don't forget to leave me a review if you're enjoying reading the fic. It would mean the world to me to find out someone new is reading this. ;)


	9. The Bill Came in the Mail

That same Thursday, Quinn was up in her bedroom in the evening doing her homework when she heard the doorbell. She opened her door a crack and listened as her father answered the door.

"Oh hi, Finn! Is my daughter expecting you?" Russell asked.

"No, sir, but I just wanted to drop by and talk to her," he replied nervously, stepping inside and letting Russell close the door behind him. Finn never was very comfortable around Quinn's parents. He usually avoided running into them if at all possible. Quinn left her bedroom and headed downstairs, wanting to save her boyfriend from her dad.

"Hey, Finn!" she called out to him. "Daddy, it's okay. I'm here now," she said to her father, hoping he'd disappear into the next room. He did what he knew she wanted. After he was gone, Quinn turned back to Finn. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm returning to glee club after all!" he said with a huge grin on his face. "I get to stay on both teams, and I think all the other football players in glee club will be able to do both now too." He looked so happy and excited, and Quinn _wanted_ to be happy for him but she couldn't bring herself to smile. She was still so heartbroken to have lost cheerleading and somehow she'd have to break that news to Finn.

"That's great," she replied with no real emotion in her tone. Finn, somewhat surprisingly, noticed something was up with how she said it.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "I thought this would be good news."

"It is," she replied. "I just... I'm not going to be cheering for your team anymore," she explained, looking up into his eyes, hoping he'd understand how hard this was for her. Right at that moment, however, Judy walked into the foyer where Finn and Quinn were standing. She apparently had overheard what Quinn had just said.

"What do you mean?" Judy asked her daughter with surprise in her voice.

"Oh, um." Quinn was taken aback. She wasn't expecting to tell her mother so soon what had happened. She hadn't properly prepared a good lie yet. So she winged it. "I decided to quit the Cheerios," she told her mother with conviction.

"What? I... don't understand," Judy replied, looking in confusion from her daughter to Finn and back. Finn kept his eyes firmly planted on Quinn though. This was her story and he was smart enough to know that he should not mess it up.

"I want to focus on glee club and my studies for a while," Quinn explained, hoping her mother would accept the explanation and move on. "I just am tired of cheerleading, that's all."

"Okay..." Judy replied, and Quinn couldn't tell if she was confused or rather not really buying it. "I just thought you always really loved Cheerios a lot," she muttered, half to herself as she turned away and left her daughter alone with her boyfriend. Finn looked at Quinn for a moment.

"So... Miss Sylvester kicked you off the team?" he whispered. Quinn glanced nervously toward the living room where both of her parents were. She nodded in affirmation, then looked down towards her feet. "I'm sorry," Finn said.

"It's okay. It's not your fault," she replied. "I _am_ happy that you get to come back to glee though," she told him sweetly, looking back up at him. He smiled.

"Okay, well I better go, my mom's probably waiting for me," Finn said. She nodded and he kissed her briefly, then left. Quinn went back upstairs to finish her homework.

* * *

The next day, Quinn woke up extra early, hoping if she got to school early enough that she'd already be in the glee classroom for first period before the jerk jocks got there, which would mean that she'd be able to avoid getting slushied. She looked with sadness at the Cheerios uniform that she wasn't allowed to wear. She'd worn that uniform every single morning for over a year and yet suddenly instead of being required attire, it was forbidden. So instead she put on a nice white dress with blue polka dots all over it. She grabbed a blue sweater to match it and put it on. She looked at herself in the mirror and realized that she kind of looked nice with her hair not in a ponytail for once. She tried to grasp any silver lining she could and then closed the door of her bedroom and headed downstairs.

Quinn drove herself to school and entered the still-mainly-empty building. She passed by a few students who were already there and at their lockers and walked by the slushie machine on her way to her own locker, noticing her boyfriend standing there, filling up a drink.

"Finn! What are you doing?" she asked him, shocked. "Are you going to slushie someone?"

"No," Finn answered. Quinn was relieved... now that she'd been slushied herself she wouldn't wish that on anyone... not even _Rachel,_ she realized. Finn explained that he'd decided to give everyone in glee club a gift of slushies to actually _drink_ as a "welcome back gift" to the club. He asked Quinn to pick up the right number of straws for everyone as he filled up the drinks. Quinn entered the glee classroom and as her fellow club members entered, handed each of them a straw. All of the kids were there when Finn arrived with the sugary refreshments. After handing them out, Finn decided to propose a toast.

"To Mr. Schue. You were right about glee club and football being a killer combination."

Everyone cheered to that with excited "yeahs" and "woo hoos" and put their drinks in for the toast; everyone, except Quinn, who was sitting on a stool by the piano, away from the group. She hadn't really noticed her boyfriend giving a toast nor cared to try to be a part of such a happy group when she was feeling so... depressed at the moment. She missed whatever Artie was talking about as she stirred her slushie with her straw and stared at it. She was thinking about her new status in the school and how slushies like this were so often used.

"You okay, Quinn?" Will asked her, concerned. At the sound of her name, she was pulled out of her unpleasant thoughts.

"Do I look okay?" she replied simply. It should be obvious that she wasn't, and she wasn't trying to be rude about it. She was just upset. "I'm devastated. Now that I'm off the Cheerios, I'll start every day with a slushie facial."

"That's okay if that happens, Quinn," Mr. Schue tried to reassure her. "Because there are eleven of your friends, right here," he continued, gesturing towards them, "who are going to be more than happy to help clean you off." She looked over at them and they all vigorously agreed with their teacher's sentiment. Quinn couldn't help but feel a bit touched and smiled.

* * *

Friday evening she hung out with Finn at his mom's house. They ordered a pizza for themselves because his mom was away working. While eating they watched a rented movie and then talked a bit. Quinn mentioned to him that the bill from the doctors still hadn't come, but when it did they'd have to pay it. He nodded in understanding. They both didn't know how they'd get the money to do it, but it seemed Finn was fully willing to share responsibility for that cost, and for that she was grateful. She smiled at him and then just sat there in his arms on the couch. She was so worried about the future, but at the same time was kind of glad it wasn't there yet. She tried to let herself just enjoy the fact that it was the weekend.

She had to get home by her curfew of 11:00 PM. Finn drove her home and walked her to her house around 10:45, and they kissed goodnight sweetly and fairly chastely, since Quinn's parents might have been watching. She got home and went to bed. She didn't fall asleep too quickly though, because as had become habit for her lately, she couldn't stop thinking about the baby growing inside her. She also worried constantly about her parents what they might say or do if they found out that she was pregnant. She eventually fell asleep though, and slept solidly through the night.

The next day was Saturday and Quinn was the perfect daughter, helping with household chores. As she scrubbed the large kitchen floor with her mother, the smell of the cleaning chemicals overwhelmed her and made her very nauseous, but she hid it well. She did need to sneak off to the bathroom to vomit at one point, but her mother didn't seem to suspect a thing. When the mail came, she volunteered to get it of course, and to her relief the bill finally had come! She carefully hid it and then returned to the chores.

* * *

Quinn didn't talk to Finn at all for the rest of the weekend... she didn't even text him. She just thought about that bill. She'd been shocked at the amount when she'd opened it- why hadn't the people at the doctor's office _told_ her it would cost that much? She needed to find a way to get $685 before the end of the month. She tried to think of a way to secretly steal it from her parents. She knew they probably could afford it, but she could not think of any way to steal even $50 without them noticing. She considered getting a job, but she had no clue where to even start looking. They lived in a small town... not many job opportunities were available to pregnant 16-year-old girls who still were in school. She decided she'd just tell Finn about it on Monday sometime at school, and until then try to stop dwelling on her dire money situation.

Sunday night when she was sleeping she had a nightmare and she saw 685 single dollar bills all closing in on her and then they grew mouths and started eating her alive.

* * *

Quinn went to her classes Monday and tried to ignore the stares from fellow students. She hadn't really let herself pay attention to any of it before, even though the fact that she was pregnant had been common knowledge around the school for some of the previous week too... but now she finally heard the whispers about whether or not she had a baby bump yet. She saw teachers looking at her differently, trying to hide it, but the pity from some and judgment from others was always obvious. She couldn't do anything but sit there and pretend it wasn't happening. But it was torturing her, little by little.

She tried to come up with a good time to tell Finn about the bill, but they never seemed to cross paths that day. Even at lunch when she expected to have time with him, he seemed too busy hanging out with Puck that day to even notice her. And Quinn kind of wanted to avoid Puck especially if the topic of her pregnancy was going to come up. At glee rehearsal she had the same problem. After school she just went home, deciding ultimately to postpone telling Finn about it until the next day.

* * *

Tuesday morning she got to school very early again. Quinn realized that this actually worked as a way to avoid getting slushied and decided it was worth it to get into the habit. She decided to head into the gymnasium and watch the early morning Cheerios practice. She thought about where she'd be in the formations if she was still on that cheerleading squad. Finn had noticed her enter the gym however, and after a minute or two decided to follow her in. He joined her on the bleachers.

"You shouldn't do this to yourself," Finn told her wisely. Quinn decided to play dumb though.

"Do what?" she asked, not looking at him. He looked at her though and hesitated before continuing with his previous concerned sentiment.

"I know how much it hurts to be off the team," he said. "You're just torturing yourself, watching." Quinn couldn't deny it. And still couldn't really look at him. She realized it was a good time to tell Finn about the bill though.

"I need a good distraction," she explained, still staring towards the Cheerios.

"From what?" Finn asked. Quinn sighed and then grabbed the piece of mail out of her purse. Finn too it and opened it, and Quinn waited while he read it.

"Six hundred and eighty five dollars?" he asked a bit incredulously. Quinn couldn't really blame him for being a bit surprised at how much they were being charged – she'd been surprised too when she'd first read it, after all. But now it'd been days since she'd received it and she wasn't in the mood to relive those feelings. She was ready to move onto to dealing with how to actually pay it.

"That's how much a sonogram costs," she told him matter of factly, turning to him. "This is just the beginning," she explained. "There's gonna be more doctors visits, vitamins, new clothes for when I explode..."

"What are we gonna do?" Finn asked.

"What are _you_ gonna do?" she countered harshly.

"Well, I'm lookin' for a job. I mean... no one's hiring!" Finn defended himself. "I- I almost got in at Olive Garden but they said I was too tall to be a bus boy."

Quinn almost was laughing mirthlessly as she replied, "Somewhere, in that pea brain of yours, is a man! Access him, and tell him to prove to me that I chose the right guy to have a baby with." Quinn sounded so severe but her eyes were almost betraying her, a shimmer of tears somewhat evident on them as she stood up.

"I will. I'll- I'll find a job," Finn tried to convince her. "You can count on me. I swear." She turned back to him and kind of gave him a nod as she tried not to cry. "So where are you going?" he asked.

"You're right," she said, staring directly at him. "This _does_ hurt too much," she said, her voice cracking a bit. She glanced at the Cheerios and tried to make it seem like she was talking about that but it was obvious even to Finn that she was upset about much more than cheerleading. She couldn't even really look him in the eye for more than a second, and after answering him quickly she walked away from her boyfriend even faster. She knew she was being a bit unfair to Finn, but it was easier to deal with everything this way. So she headed to her homeroom in a huff, focusing on being mad at her boyfriend for not seeming quite so perfect at the moment. It was a good way to stop herself from being so overly emotional like her hormones kept trying to force her to be. She thought intensely about Finn, and about why she was mad at him, blocking out any sad feelings and trying to replace them with anger. She did choose to make him believe he was the father of her baby... and she only decided to do that because she _thought_ having Finn involved would make things easier for her.

* * *

At glee that morning, she met up with Finn, having thought of some new ideas for jobs for him during her homeroom period.

"What about Target?" she suggested, knowing they did often hire high schoolers.

"I tried, not hiring," Finn replied.

Quinn found that hard to believe and tried to make sure he understood just how important it was that he get a job. The longer the bill went unpaid, the more reminders the doctor's office would send to the house. And every time it would be a huge risk that her parents might find out that was "with child". And if they didn't pay the bills, then the Fabrays would most certainly be called up and informed over the phone. Quinn desperately needed to prevent that from happening.

Will entered the classroom with a new song for Rachel to sing, which wasn't that surprising. Then he also announced that the school wasn't going to pay for the special bus they'd need to take Artie and his wheelchair to Sectionals. Will suggested they hold a bake sale to raise the money instead, and Quinn couldn't believe her teacher could really be that optimistic and naive. Everyone tried to explain to Mr. Schue how no one knew how to bake and how they were all just too busy for a bake sale.

"Can't Artie's dad just take him?" Mercedes asked.

"I can't believe how insensitive you're all being," Mr. Schue replied, disappointed. "Are you a team?"

"Of course," Quinn replied, defending her fellow glee club members. "But Artie understands, don't you Artie?" she asked, looking toward him.

"Oh, of- of course," he replied. Quinn looked back at Will, raising her eyebrows in an "I told you so" kind of way. Everyone left glee club that day thinking they'd gotten out of the bake sale.

However the next day, Mr. Schuester announced that they _would_ be having a bake sale despite their protests, and in addition they all had to spend three whole hours a day in a wheelchair for the next week! _And_ , he added, they'd be doing a wheelchair _number_! Quinn couldn't really believe it. But she'd have to get in a wheelchair and roll herself down hallways and probably make even more of a spectacle of herself around the school. There was no way Mr. Schue was going to budge on this, she realized.


	10. "Look, Puck, this is really sweet, but..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally at some Quinn/Puck stuff. Yay. ;) This was quite fun to write. But actually what I'd been *really* looking forward to writing is Quinn getting kicked out of her house though lol. But it comes up soon enough. ;)
> 
> I think I might have messed up slightly with the bill stuff in terms of continuity but it's so tricky, because the show's continuity isn't perfect. Also, they change clothes way too often, lmao. Seriously - they act like something's supposed to happen "tomorrow" but it's then 2 or 3 outfits later?

Quinn actually did know how to bake, unlike her peers in the glee club. She had grown up being taught by her mother and grandmother since before she could talk how to properly knead dough, crack an egg, use a cookie cutter, measure ingredients, etc. She hadn't eaten much of the cookies or brownies in recent years for fear of gaining weight, but she still knew how to make a basic batch of cupcakes if she had to.

Quinn felt like if she spent too much time with her mother, her mother might start to suspect that Quinn was keeping secrets from her. She now was doing surreptitious mail checks every day and still was way more nauseous all the time than someone who wasn't pregnant should have been. Also she was starting to show a bit, if you really looked hard at her abdomen, and her boobs were bigger than they'd ever been. So to avoid her mother figuring out her youngest daughter had a "bun in the oven", Quinn decided to try baking using the resources in the school's Home Ec room instead of in her own house's kitchen.

Quinn got all the ingredients she'd need out of the cupboards, impressed that the school really did have everything she'd need, even a carton of eggs in the fridge. She measured out the exact right amount of each of the dry ingredients first and put them into the mixing bowl. She cracked an egg into the bowl. She was lining a cupcake tray when Puck entered the room, commenting on how he didn't even know this room existed. Quinn wasn't sure what he was doing there in the room. She tried to put up her guard as he got unnecessarily close to her, right next to where she'd been working at the counter.

"What's this?" he asked her, looking around at everything she'd gotten out.

"Ingredients for cupcakes, for this stupid bake sale," she answered, thinking it should be obvious. She looked away from him, trying to avoid his eyes. She didn't know what to say to him, and she wished she didn't quite feel the way she did whenever she was around him. She remembered that night not too many months ago, and how he'd made her feel. He took a hold of her hand and she felt a tingle rush through her body, but tried to ignore it. He put something into her hand and she looked to see what he was doing. He had placed a wad of cash in her palm.

"What's this?" she asked, not sure what he was thinking.

"It's what I had leftover from my pool cleaning money. After I bought dip, and nunchuks. I was getting that you kinda need money," he explained, "for our kid." Quinn realized he must have overheard one of her conversations with Finn.

"For _my_ kid," she corrected. She looked down at the cash and leafed through it, counting it. "Eighteen dollars!" she said, sarcastically sounding impressed. She pursed her lips and looked away in dissatisfaction.

"How much has Finn given you?" Puck asked, and Quinn realized he had a point. She turned to look him in the eye and started to shake her head.

"Just stop," she said quietly. He looked a bit hurt but she continued anyway. "I told you before, I don't care if that baby comes out with a Mohawk, I will go to my grave swearing it's Finn's." She didn't need the complication of Finn finding out he'd been cheated on and then lied to for months. She couldn't accept even the mere eighteen dollars. It would complicate things, and make Puck feel involved. She really needed him to understand that this was _not_ his kid and he couldn't ever act like it was. She had made that decision and there was no turning back. She pressed the cash back into his hand forcefully and looked away, hoping he'd just walk away. Instead, he touched her shoulder and got a bit closer to her.

"It would be pretty awesome if it came out with a Mohawk," he commented. She couldn't resist smiling at that. She even let a slight laugh escape and then turned back to him.

"You are such an egghead," she practically breathed back at him, while looking him right in the eye. He smiled at her so surely.

"I'm not," he said. And she really wanted to believe him for a second. She realized she was staring at him too... longingly. She darted her eyes away, flitting them around for a few moments and thinking quickly. She remembered the egg carton she had open, sitting on the counter, and decided in the spur of the moment to just crack one on Puck's head to go along with what she'd just called him. She did it and Puck just stood there as the yolk slid down his face, obviously very surprised and a bit amused that she'd done that. She couldn't contain herself and was smiling hugely now, biting her bottom lip and staring at him, waiting for him to say something. Instead he turned and grabbed a fistful of flour and egg out of her mixing bowl and Quinn just started to giggle. She closed her eyes as he threw it in her face. She threw some brown sugar back at him, and it got all over his black shirt. Things were picking up in this ridiculously random and fun food fight, and Puck reached back into the mixing bowl with both hands and just dropped a ton of stuff on her with a little shout. Quinn squealed in response while laughing.

"That was perfectly measured!" she yelled at him, obviously not really caring since she was still grinning from ear to ear and laughing a bit through her words. They both started throwing powdery ingredients towards one another at the same time and Puck picked up the entire package of flour and started sprinkling it over her head! At one point Puck grabbed her to try to stop her from getting to the mixing bowl and Quinn felt a surge go through her body. She couldn't deny the chemistry she felt when touching Puck. They continued to laugh and shriek in good fun for about three whole minutes as they threw food all over each other. Quinn couldn't remember the last time she'd had this much fun... probably not since she was a little kid!

Then they suddenly locked eyes and Puck gently pulled her hair out of her face. The gesture was so intimate and Quinn looked down toward her feet, suddenly feeling like nothing would be better than sharing a kiss with Puck right then and there. She was still breathing hard from the vigorous food fight and glanced up at Puck nervously, trying to catch her breath and gauge what he was thinking. She realized her increased heart rate and difficulty catching her breath might not only be a result of the fight but rather they might have something to do with the way she felt standing so close to Puck. She couldn't help it. He was just so sexy.

Suddenly she heard Finn's voice.

"What the hell?"

Quinn and Puck both quickly turned toward Finn slightly and stopped whatever they were about to start. Quinn considered Finn's question and glanced down for a moment and realized what the room and her body must have looked like in that moment. She laughed a little and then bit her lip, a bit guilty to have been having that much fun with Puck, it was practically cheating on Finn. But she couldn't stop smiling, she was still on a high from all the craziness.

"We're baking!" she explained to Finn with a little giggle. He just kinda gaped at her for a second.

"I can see that," he replied. Quinn looked down at her hands, still unbelievably amused.

"I'm gonna go change," Puck said, escaping the scene quickly. Finn just watched him leave, then looked back at his girlfriend.

"Seriously," Finn continued. "What the hell happened?" He actually seemed kind of jealous or pissed, like he really saw just how close Puck and Quinn had been to kissing and sensed that something more was going on than should have been.

"We just got into a little food fight. It just kinda happened," she justified. "I'm not sure how or why. It all got started so fast. Don't worry about it, it was fun! I... I finally can kind of understand why you're friends with him," she said softly, hoping Finn would accept her excuse. She was serious, she did see a side to Puck that she really enjoyed when they were throwing flour at each other.

"Okay," Finn said, not quite understanding how in the world a food fight like that could "just happen" nor why his girlfriend was smiling _so much_. But he accepted it.

Quinn smiled at him gratefully and then insisted she had to get back to baking the cupcakes for the following day's bake sale. So Finn left her to it while she re-measured all of her ingredients and put the trays into the oven. She then cleaned up the mess she and Puck had left all over the kitchen, noticing that Puck was being irresponsible to not clean up after himself, and trying to reassure herself that Puck really was the unreliable guy she'd judged him as and that he shouldn't be at all involved in her pregnancy.

* * *

The next day at lunch they held the bake sale, trying to sell all the cupcakes with red icing that Quinn had spent so much effort to make the previous day. She knew no one else would bring anything to sell so she made a lot. No one bought a cupcake except Brittany though. Quinn was convinced it was because they were all so uncool now, especially now that they were in wheelchairs. Sure, Mr. Schue was trying to teach them a lesson about how hard Artie had it, and she was even starting to appreciate it as she struggled to get through part of a school day in one of the chairs. Still, she found herself resenting Mr. Schue for doing this to her. She was desperate for the week of wheelchairs to be over.

"Well, maybe if we put a jellybean or something on top we'd sell more," Finn suggested.

"Are you an idiot?" Quinn yelled at him. "How am I supposed to trust you to take care of our baby when you can't even figure out how to sell a damn cupcake?"

"Stop attacking me," Finn replied firmly. "I'm sick of it!"

"Get a job," Quinn ordered in response. Finn started to stand up out of his wheelchair.

"I'm trying!" He got caught between the table and the chair and kicked the wheelchair forcefully away from him in extreme frustration, then walked out of there. Quinn attempted to follow without breaking Mr. Schuester's rules – meaning she attempted to wheel herself after him. She gave up after a bit though. It was an impossible task. Finn was long gone.

A few hours later near the end of the school day she overheard from Tina and Mercedes gossiping that Puck and Finn had gotten into an actual fight in the hallway. In their wheelchairs. Punches thrown and yelling occurring. Quinn couldn't believe it. She listened closely but apparently no one knew what they were fighting about. She figured it'd be big news if Finn had found out the truth about Puck being the father, so she tentatively breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she'd find out details later from Finn.

* * *

Finn still didn't have a job and the bill was due. But Quinn had tried her best to get him to get money for her and it hadn't worked. So she basically gave up. She didn't talk to Finn much for the next couple days, and she went to glee rehearsal in her wheelchair and tried to learn how to "dance" in one of them. She wasn't sure how mad to be at Finn, she could tell he was trying. He was so cute when he tried to do the spin move in the wheelchair and failed miserably. She couldn't resist smiling sweetly at him.

After glee rehearsal, however, Quinn went home and again intercepted the mail, only to discover a past due notice already. She was a bit disappointed that the doctor's office was _that_ fast to deliver one! She had no money still and had no clue what she was going to do. She went about doing her homework and eating dinner with her family and all of that normal stuff. But the next day she arrived at school with an ultimatum ready for Finn. She stormed into the glee classroom that was deserted except for her boyfriend sharing what seemed to be a tender moment with Rachel. She interrupted them loudly.

"We need to talk." Rachel stopped smiling at Quinn's boyfriend and suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"I'll get out of your way," she said to Quinn and Finn, starting to get up.

"Nope!" Quinn demanded. "You stay, I need a witness." Quinn turned back to Finn.

"Do you know what this is?" she handed him the folded piece of paper. He looked at it.

"Oh! This is a past due notice, my mom gets them all the time," Finn replied, almost proud of himself for actually knowing what it was. He seemed a bit oblivious to just how upset his girlfriend was.

"Right." Quinn wasn't that impressed. "But if this sonogram bill doesn't get paid, it's not your _phone_ that's gonna get cut off. _You_ will get cut off!" Finn seemed to finally be getting it. She was mad. His eyes got wide as she continued. "You need to help me with this, Finn. Or else we're gonna go our separate ways." She slammed the notice into his hands as she left in a huff.

At lunch, Quinn was shocked that Puck had baked a ton of cupcakes that were selling insanely well. Like Santana said, they seemed to be so addictive, and she could barely keep up with the dollar bills coming in as she worked as one of the cashiers. She didn't eat any herself because she wanted to eat only healthy food for her baby, not too much sugar and fat. But she licked a little icing off of her finger when it got on it by accident, and it was sweet and delicious. Puck counted all the money they got after all the cupcakes were gone while Quinn tried to clean off the rest of her hands with a napkin. He turned back towards Quinn, smiling with pride at all the money he'd brought in with his Nana's cupcake recipe. Quinn smiled back at him widely without really thinking about it.

After lunch they all were in the glee room, waiting for the "diva off" between Rachel and Kurt for "Defying Gravity" to start. Santana and Matt were talking about the bake sale and acting a bit unlike their usual selves. They were in really good moods and Quinn joined in the conversation when Santana started asking her questions about what Quinn speculated that Puck's Nana's secret recipe was. Quinn then got distracted, however, when Rachel entered the room. Finn got up and touched her shoulder, and then wished her luck and whispered something to her. Quinn felt more jealous of Finn and Rachel that day than she'd felt in a while. She didn't know what to think about her boyfriend being so nice to another girl. But Quinn actually did kind of like Rachel now. That could change if Rachel stole her boyfriend though. She just wished they'd not spend any time alone together and would stop sharing sweet moments like the one she'd walked in on that morning.

Quinn listened to Kurt and Rachel sing, and they both did a great job. She was not surprised to see her boyfriend staring at Rachel while she sang in a way that didn't seem completely platonic. However, Quinn was actually quite surprised when Kurt messed up the high F at the end of the song – she was so sure he'd hit it. She clapped nicely at the end of both and when they had to vote couldn't resist writing down Kurt's name on the little slip of paper even though he'd messed up the note. Quinn couldn't bring herself to actually vote for Rachel after her boyfriend had wished her luck like that.

* * *

At the end of the day, Quinn put all of her books back and closed her locker. As she started walking away she heard Puck's voice from behind her.

"Hey, wait up!" he called to her. She swiveled herself to be facing him, wondering what he had to say. He reached into his jacket and pulled out quite a hunk of cash, trying to do it somewhat secretly so everyone else in the hallway wouldn't immediately notice.

"I cracked open the piggy bank," he said. "It's for you. Well it's for it." Quinn couldn't believe he was doing this for her and actually coming through on getting her money when Finn wasn't. She also decided it was only fair that Puck know the baby was a girl.

"'It' is a she," she informed him cautiously, hoping he wouldn't be disappointed to find that out. She stared into his eyes waiting for his reaction. He stared back at her as he took a second to comprehend the news, and then the corners of his mouth perked into the tiniest trace of a smile.

"Cool," he replied. Referring back to his money, he said, "I told you I wasn't a deadbeat." Quinn looked back down at the money, unsure of what to say. She tried to formulate a response while avoiding eye contact with him.

"Look, Puck, this is really sweet, but-"

"I- I can get more," Puck interrupted. He was now the one looking down toward his feet as he continued. "People call me a screw-up because," he started nervously, "I think school is for suckers, but... I got ambition." He looked Quinn right in the eye as he said that last part with conviction. "Get us a house, some stuff, furniture. We could be a family!" Quinn was stunned by Puck's words. After a moment, she responded.

"Finn is your best friend, I-" Quinn tried to protest. Puck cut her off again, though.

"He'd be pissed for a while," Puck conceded. "But then he'd realize he didn't have to deal with all this; he'd bake me a damn cake!" That last word made Quinn realize where Puck had gotten the money from.

"You stole from the cupcake fund," she stated rather than asked.

"No I didn't," Puck denied. Quinn raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Fine, I did. I made all those cupcakes. I'm all about being a team player but my family comes first."

"I get it," Quinn replied after a moment. She really appreciated the sentiment more than she could ever let Puck know. She gently placed her hand on the collar of his jacket before continuing. "And... I'm sorry." She was looking him right in the eye and took a breath. "I should have never called you a Lima loser. You're not. You're special. And romantic. And a good enough person to realize that... we are not going to take money from a friend in a wheelchair." Quinn saw Puck lower his head, understanding. It just wasn't the right thing to do.

Finn appeared behind Puck, still in his wheelchair.

"Hey!" he called out to Quinn, oblivious to the fact that he was yet again intruding on a fairly intimate moment between his girlfriend and best friend. Puck quickly and carefully hid the cash in his pants so that Finn wouldn't see it. Puck then stepped out of the way so that Finn could wheel to his girlfriend, who was forcing a smile for his benefit. "Here," Finn said, offering her an envelope.

"What's this?" she asked, taking it.

"I got a job," Finn answered. He explained about how Rachel helped him get hired at a restaurant by making the employer think that Finn was handicapped and that refusing to hire him would lead to the ACLU barging in. Quinn smiled, unable to be upset at that moment about the fact that Finn was again spending time with Rachel. Her boyfriend had actually gotten a job for her, and she was so pleased that he had come through for her. He then offered her a lift to rehearsal, and so she gently sat down on his lap and let herself be wheeled away by him. As they turned the corner, Quinn took a glance back at Puck, who was still standing there, just watching them leave. Quinn realized he looked a bit sad, and she felt bad for him. He would be meeting them in the auditorium in a few minutes and she hoped he wouldn't look quite so... disappointed then.

Sure enough, Puck was back to acting like his usual self, suggesting they buy some beer with any leftover cash they have after renting the handicap bus, and he then smiled at Quinn, and they shared a moment of pride over knowing they'd done the right thing and not stolen from Artie, but instead helped him. Artie ultimately decided the money should go for a ramp in the auditorium instead of to a bus. Everyone was getting much better at dancing in their wheelchairs in rehearsal that day and Mr. Schue told them that the next day at rehearsal they would get into their costumes and try actually singing while dancing for once – their wheelchair number was going to be "Proud Mary".

After school, Quinn went over to Finn's house and apologized for being so harsh to him earlier. She blamed it on a combination of stress and hormones, and Finn forgave her. Carole was in the next room so they made sure to keep their voices low and never actually use the word "pregnant" in their conversation. After they talked, they watched a sitcom on television together, then went out to the back porch to make-out in relative privacy. Carole poked her head out at one point.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," she said, causing Quinn and Finn to jump apart embarrassed. "I just was wondering if Quinn was planning to stay for supper."

Quinn straightened out her clothing and tried to discretely fix her hair as she replied. "Oh, no, sorry my parents are expecting me home. I probably should get going," she said somewhat apologetically, turning to Finn and then back to his mother. "Thank you, though," she said.

As soon as Quinn had a foot in the front door, her father called out to her, "Quinn, your sister's on the line! Would you like to say 'hello'?"

"Oh, uh, sure!" Quinn called back. She hurried into the kitchen where her father was on the phone.

"Great timing, sweetheart," Russell said softly as he handed her the phone. "I was just about to hang up, so you got home just in time." Quinn nodded as she placed the receiver to her ear.

Quinn mainly listened as Gabrielle talked about her crazy day with her coworkers. Gabrielle was complaining but Quinn couldn't help but be jealous of how normal and wonderful her life sounded. She wished when she was Gabi's age she would have a job and a nice husband whom she loved to come home to just like her big sister. She wished she could still have a nice relationship with her sister and parents then, just like Gabi did. She doubted though that this would ever be a possibility for her, even if she did give up her baby for adoption. Her parents and probably her sister too would never forgive her for getting pregnant, and they would inevitably find out soon, Quinn realized.

She was still listening to her sister ramble on as she glanced over towards her father on the other side of the room. He was sitting at the kitchen table reading the sports section of the newspaper. Quinn adjusted her position slightly and sucked in her stomach, hoping her baby bump wasn't at all noticeable yet to anyone except herself. She bit her lip nervously, wishing she could just tell her big sister right then and there over the phone. She not only wanted to talk about being pregnant, but she wanted to talk to her big sister about her confusing feelings for both Finn and Puck. She needed sisterly advice. She wanted everything to miraculously be okay after the pregnancy was common knowledge and wished for her family to just be there for her and help her through it, and for her fear of them finding out to finally go away. A part of her was dying to just give up and tell them right then and there. But she didn't. She sat there and finished her conversation with Gabrielle, never once bringing up any of the things on her mind.


	11. Artie and Quinn Work Together on their Ballads

Artie picked Quinn's name out of the hat. Apparently, they were going to be partnered up for the ballad that was their glee assignment for the week, despite Finn sweetly having said he wanted his girlfriend as a partner. Quinn was glad he hadn't shown any hint of wanting Rachel, and Finn instead got stuck with Kurt, much to everyone's amusement – including Quinn's. She smiled as discretely as she could, trying not to let her boyfriend see how humorous she found the whole situation – Kurt clearly had a huge crush on Finn, and Finn was clearly as straight as they come and freaked out by the idea of Kurt possibly liking him. And Mr. Schue was the one who got stuck with Rachel, who insisted they sing the hilariously inappropriate ballad "Endless Love" right then and there as an example. Quinn watched Rachel sing lovingly while staring intently into their teacher's eyes – he was clearly very uncomfortable. Quinn glanced over at her boyfriend and followed his line of sight... straight to Rachel's butt? She hoped she was mistaken and he wasn't just staring at her ass. The way he looked away quickly made her sure that he was though, and so Quinn just glared at him. She wondered if Finn had ever looked at her own butt that way. She kind of hoped he had.

After the example ballad was over, and the bell rang, Quinn went over to Artie. They agreed to meet up the next day after school to work on their ballad. They decided to try to think of some songs that they'd like to sing to express themselves before they met up. Artie was nice and though she didn't know him too well, she was kind of looking forward to perhaps learning something more about him when they worked together on this glee project. However, Quinn was not thrilled by the prospect of having to bear her heart and soul to anyone. The thing that was _really_ eating her up and consuming all of her thoughts was the lie – the fact that she'd made Finn think he was the father - and she couldn't tell anyone that little fact, not even Artie. She couldn't sing her ballad about what she really wanted to sing about.

On the drive home from school, Quinn tried to think of a good song to express how difficult keeping the secret from her parents and sister was, or of one to just express how difficult being pregnant while in high school was. She considered maybe singing about how hurt she was by Sue kicking her off the Cheerios. Even singing about how she wanted Rachel to stay away from her boyfriend was a possibility she realized. She tried to rack her brain for a good song to express something she was feeling, one that really told a story in a ballad type format. It was very difficult to think of anything though.

She walked through her front door and immediately was greeted by her mother.

"Hey, Quinny! Look what I have here!" Judy called out to her from the living room, sounding all excited. Quinn rolled her eyes in loving annoyance.

"What is it, Mom?" she replied, dropping off her books on the little table by the mirror in the foyer, then heading towards her mother. When Quinn entered the room, she saw her mother holding up a dress bag; presumably containing her dress for the Chastity Ball. Quinn's eyes widened for a moment in shock and dread. It all came back to her, she was supposed to go to the Chastity Ball with her father in about a week and pretend she was still a virgin while a little baby girl grew inside of her. The thought of attempting to survive that night despite how guilty and hypocritical she'd feel actually made her feel physically sick. The man she'd be lying to was probably in the family room only a few feet away, watching TV. She hated how high her dad's expectations had been for her. It only intensified the guilt she felt about getting pregnant.

"Honey, is something wrong?" her mother asked her, concern heavy in her voice. She'd noticed her daughter's less than delighted reaction. Quinn realized that immediately and caught herself, forcing a fake smile for her mother's benefit.

"Oh, what? No, I'm totally fine. Happy, I'm just surprised," she offered, telling the partial truth and omitting the real reason for her previous facial expression. "I totally forgot that the Chastity Ball was coming up so soon," Quinn explained honestly.

"Oh, okay," her mother replied, accepting the answer. "So go on, I want to see how it looks on you," Judy continued, practically giddy as she went over to her daughter and pushed the bag into her hands. Quinn internally was frozen in panic as she took the dress from her mother and forced another fake smile. She was really starting to have a baby bump, and she still was fine not wearing maternity clothes but she'd had to avoid wearing jeans and certain skin tight types of outfits. She was worried that maybe this dress that had been perfectly fitted to her body would show her baby bump... or worse, not even be able to be zipped up. Quinn and her mother headed away from the window and toward the mirror they had in the living room, which was especially useful in situations like this, and slowly, very nervously, Quinn started to get undressed in front of her mother. She took off her shoes and looked up at her mom. She wished her mom would give her some privacy... and Judy sensed that.

"I'll leave you alone, sorry, I forget you're not a baby anymore and that this is a tad awkward!" Judy sweetly explained to her daughter. She headed into the kitchen, saying over her shoulder, "Please just call me when you have it on!"

Quinn breathed a sigh of relief and then took off the rest of her clothes quickly. She glanced at her body wearing only underwear in the mirror. Her baby bump was pretty obvious on her naked body and she was glad her mother wasn't there to see it. Her breasts were also pushing the limits of her bra instead of fitting very nicely into the cups and she quickly took the dress out of its bag and slipped into it, eager to hide what her pregnant body looked like. It was _really_ tight around her waist, just as she'd expected, and Quinn sucked in her stomach as much as she could, hoping that would help. After getting her arms through the little sleeves she reached around and tried to zip it up herself but she couldn't reach the zipper. So she called for her mother instead.

"Mom, I'm done, I just need help getting it zipped up!" she yelled. Then she just stared at herself in the mirror. At the white dress on her body, and all it falsely symbolized. She remembered when Gabrielle had worn a dress like this and how Quinn had looked forward to this day. Oh how things had changed so drastically since then. Judy came over with a martini she must have poured herself while in the kitchen and then gasped and got all teary eyed. Quinn ignored her over-dramatic mother. Judy knelt down on the ground and then reached out a hand and touched Quinn's arm gently.

"Sweetie," she whispered, causing Quinn to turn to look at her. "I am so proud of you. The Chastity Ball is so important to your father."

As Judy got up to help her daughter with her zipper, Quinn thought about how much she missed the firm support of her Cheerios uniform, which could successfully hide her growing abdomen because of the control panel it had built in. Judy tried to zip up the dress but the zipper got stuck about halfway up, and Quinn's mind raced as she tried to think of an excuse for why, to Quinn's extreme disappointment, the dress just didn't fit anymore.

"Huh. That's odd," Judy commented. "We had this custom made a month ago."

"I had a really big lunch today at school," Quinn immediately justified. "Really big tacos," she said, looking at her mother through the mirror and nodding, trying her hardest to convince her mother of the lie she'd made up on the spot. The look on her mother's face spoke volumes though. Maybe Quinn had been too obviously desperate just then because Judy wasn't simply not believing what her daughter had just said. It was more than that. She clearly realized that Quinn was pregnant. Judy was standing there, thinking about all of the signs that had been there and looking at her daughter's stomach in the mirror now. Quinn wished her mother would stop staring like that, and wished she was wrong, but Quinn just _knew_ that her mother knew now. Judy breathed out and broke into a smile, and then grabbed her daughter's shoulders and lovingly leaned her head right against Quinn's. Quinn wasn't sure what she was doing.

"No worries, sweetie," Judy said, rubbing her daughters arms repeatedly. She seemed to be sort of near tears but holding them back as she continued speaking. "I'll just take it down to the tailor tomorrow, we'll let it out a little bit." Quinn realized her mother was going to pretend she didn't just figure out that her sixteen-year-old daughter was pregnant. She quickly resented her mother for this fact as she listened to her continue speaking. "The problem here, honey, is... You know, I- I just don't think you've been getting enough exercise ever since you quit the Cheerios." She reached over into the sewing box she conveniently already had in the living room from some sewing she'd done earlier today and pulled out the tape measure. "Am I right?" she asked Quinn as she pulled the tape out around Quinn's waist.

"Yeah," Quinn decided to answer her. "Yeah, that's right." Quinn figured she shouldn't ruin her mother's wall of denial. Clearly her mom was desperate to not believe her daughter was pregnant, and Quinn couldn't bear to break her mom's heart.

"I mean you used to spend _hours_ , every day, doing back-flips and high-kicks. And now... I mean now you spend all your free time sitting on a stool in the dark singing show tunes."

Quinn realized her mother had no idea what glee club really did. Did her mother truly believe she sang in the dark and was always just sitting down? Glee club was a surprising amount of exercise; even when they were sitting in wheelchairs the whole time figuring out how to dance to "Proud Mary" her arms had gotten quite a workout.

"Do you know how many calories you burn singing?" Judy continued, looking her daughter in the eye. She reached out her hand and placed it under Quinn's chin. "Hmm?" It was a rhetorical question, so Quinn didn't answer. "Not very many," her mother finished with an air of wisdom. She was chastising her for what she still thought was Quinn's _choice_ to quit cheerleading instead of addressing the issue that both of them now knew about, and Quinn wasn't sure how she was supposed to react. Luckily, her father interrupted them and saved Quinn from having to say anything at all.

"Judy!" he called out to his wife from the family room. "Glenn Beck is on!"

She gasped excitedly, her hand still on Quinn's face and she looked at her daughter happily. Quinn was well aware of how much her parents _loved_ Fox News' Glenn Beck. Judy looked up to see her husband entering the room to come fetch her. He caught sight of Quinn and then put his hand over his eyes quickly.

"Wait, hold on! Hold on!" he continued to yell. Judy laughed at his reaction. "Oh, I don't want to see," he continued, and even Quinn couldn't help but smile at how cute her father was being about all of this.

"Daddy, it's not like we're getting married," she said, trying to tell him that it was okay to see her in the dress. He took his hand away from his face and sweetly kissed her cheek.

"Oh... look at you," he commented as he glanced up and down his daughter. "Speaking of getting married, how's that boy you've been dating?"

"Yeah," Judy seconded. "Yeah. He's not, uh... pressuring you at all, is he?" she asked her daughter nervously, and Quinn hated that they could think that about her wonderful boyfriend. Finn had done nothing wrong and had always respected her wish to remain chaste. She felt so bad that now, by being pregnant, people like her mother would possibly think that Finn had forced her into having sex.

"No!" Quinn replied, defending him. "No, he's a gentleman." She looked specifically into her mother's eyes as she said it. She needed her mother to believe her. This wasn't Finn's fault and she didn't want her mother blaming him unfairly.

"I'm glad to hear that," Russell said. "That's why I'm inviting him over for dinner on Sunday," he said more to Judy than to Quinn given the way he leaned his head toward her.

"Oh!" she replied, her voice very high-pitched. "Wonderful," she practically breathed. She was being all exaggeratedly excited and Quinn couldn't believe her life. She looked away from her parents and up in desperation for a moment, wondering why God hated her so freaking much. She didn't think Finn would be able to keep this secret from her parents if he had to spend a whole hour or two with them eating dinner and whatnot.

"Refresher?" Russell asked his wife, offering to refill her drink. He was being all generous and sweet today, Quinn noticed. She wondered why he was in such a good mood.

"I don't want you to lift a finger for me," Judy replied, putting her hand on his face and making a kissing noise. "I'm your wife!" Quinn hated how her mother conformed to typical gender roles and as she watched her mother grab her father's drink and start walking to refill both of theirs, Quinn made a mental note to try to make sure if she ever got married - sometime long after her baby was given up for adoption of course - that she and her husband would be equal partners in the relationship.

"Hmm... my little lemon drop!" Russell said, clearly pleased with his wife's actions, and then he slapped her butt. "I gotta go catch Glenn," he then noted, and rushed out of the room.

Quinn couldn't believe both of her parents. She was not looking forward to when she was more pregnant and it was more obvious. She wondered how long her mother could keep up the pretense... or perhaps the more relevant question was how long it would take for her father to figure it out. She then realized neither really mattered at the moment as she turned to look back at herself in the mirror again. Finn was the real issue. Would he be able to keep his mouth shut at dinner on Sunday? She wondered silently to herself and hoped for the best.

* * *

That night Quinn tried to think of a good ballad to sing to express herself to Artie, and as she was falling asleep, she finally thought of a great one. It would express how grateful she was to have Finn standing by her throughout all of the difficulties of her pregnancy, which was a true thing that she felt. As she pulled her comforter tighter around her she hoped Artie had thought of a song too.

At school the next morning, she came across Finn waiting for her at her locker. He looked really nervous... upset... maybe guilty? Quinn did not like the look on Finn's face. What was he about to confess to?

"Spill it," she demanded. She hoped he hadn't cheated on her with Rachel or something horrible. She waited with bated breath for his response.

"I... I'm really sorry," he prefaced, and Quinn wished he would just get on with it. "I didn't mean to, but she caught me singing to... well it's kind of Kurt's fault, he suggested I do it," he stammered.

"Finn," Quinn said impatiently. He sighed.

"My mom knows you're-" he explained, pursing his lips and gesturing. He knew better than to actually say the word aloud while in the school hallway, just in case someone didn't already know. Quinn just stood there, taking a moment for this to sink in.

"What?" she finally exclaimed. "No! Just... err!" she vented, storming away from Finn and toward her first class for the day. She thought about what kind of a person Carole Hudson was. Finn had been following her and when she slowed down to think, he caught up.

"I really am sorry," he offered gently, hoping it might be a small consolation, and while Quinn was pissed at him, she still appreciated the sentiment and could tell he felt bad about letting the secret slip somehow. She wasn't ready quite yet to accept his apology, however.

"I can't believe you told your mom," Quinn replied, ignoring him. "What if she tells my mom?" Quinn could just see Carole doing that, calling up her mother and gently breaking the news to her, apologizing for her son's part in it, doing something overly nice with good intentions but in the process ruining her life.

"No," Finn insisted. "She, she's not. I-"

"Half the school knows, your mom knows, who else do you want to tell, huh?" Quinn asked angrily. She remembered how Finn was the one to tell both Mr. Schue and Puck originally. He really was a blabbermouth, wasn't he?

"But she's not! She's not gonna tell anybody! I-"

"You're wrong, I'm right," Quinn stated. "I'm smart, you're dumb."

"I'm not dumb," Finn replied, trying to defend himself. "And I know my own mother, she wouldn't tell anyone, I swear!"

"No, no, no! You're wrong, I'm right!" Quinn insisted, walking away from him. She didn't want to be late for class. "I'm right! Okay?"

"She- She doesn't talk to other moms!" Finn called after her, but it was no use.

* * *

"So did you think of any good ballads for expressing yourself?" Quinn asked. She smiled at Artie but to her surprise, he darted his eyes away. "What?" She was confused. She had gone over to his house after school, and was now with him in his bedroom so as to get some privacy away from his parents.

"Oh... well I'm not sure if you knew this," Artie started hesitantly, looking back up at Quinn. "but Tina and I kissed." Quinn rose her eyebrows in surprise.

"I had no idea, but aw, that's so great Artie," she said. She kind of thought they'd been crushing on each other ever since Quinn had joined glee club. She then realized that Artie didn't seem thrilled about it though. "What happened? Wasn't it a good kiss?" Artie laughed.

"Well I don't have much to compare it to," he admitted, blushing, "but the kiss was great. It's just..." he hesitated again and Quinn looked at him in anticipation. "Well after we kissed, Tina confessed to me that her stutter has always been fake." He looked up at Quinn and she took a moment to digest the news.

"What? She doesn't really have a stutter?" Quinn couldn't believe it.

"Yeah. She doesn't. And..." Artie trailed off, looking away from Quinn. She could tell this was breaking his heart and she was still confused as to why. "It's just I thought Tina and I shared the fact that we had a disability, and that was a huge part of what I liked about her. Not her disability, but... how she didn't let it define her. But now that it was all a lie... I feel so betrayed. I don't even know if I still like her anymore," he explained.

"Aw, Artie..." Quinn said. "Come on, Tina's still the same person." Quinn honestly believed that, although she found the whole faking a stutter thing very odd.

"She lied to everyone! Even me! She kissed me _before_ telling me the truth. What kind of a person lies like that to all the people that care about them? Who can kiss someone while hiding such a huge secret that really affects the person they're kissing?"

Artie was exasperatedly asking rhetorical questions and was obviously very hurt by Tina. Quinn didn't know what to say. She felt like Artie was justified in his feelings, but she also unfortunately knew the answer to those questions – _Quinn_ was that kind of a person, she'd been lying to Finn just like Tina lied to Artie. Just like it but only her lie was way worse, Quinn painfully realized.

"So you want to sing a ballad about how... betrayed you feel?" Quinn asked, trying to sympathize with Artie and forget how instead she empathized with Tina.

"Yeah, I guess," Artie answered. "I just couldn't think of anything quite right for how I feel." He looked up at Quinn, hoping Quinn would be able to help.

"Hmm," she said, pulling out her iPod and putting it on shuffle, then skipping songs quickly because she was just looking for one that might fit Artie's situation, not listening to them. "Well, this one might be pretty good," she said, handing her iPod and earbuds to Artie.

He listened to "False Pretense" by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and the first lyrics jumped out at him as pretty darn perfect.

 _The world's got a funny way of turning 'round on you_  
When a friend tries to stab you right in the face  
Losing faith in everything I thought I hoped I knew  
Don't sweat it, it was set on false pretense 

"Thanks," he said. "I think that'll be great. I won't sing it as..." He struggled to find the right word.

"Intense?" Quinn suggested.

"Yeah mine will be more simple and raw, less crazy intense. But I'll sing the same words. I really like the lyrics for expressing myself," he said.

"Perfect," Quinn replied. "And I thought of a song that is pretty good for what I was looking for too." She took her iPod back from him and scrolled through the menus until she found it, then handed it back to Artie.

"'Stand by Me' by Ben E. King?" he asked, surprised. He looked up at her. "You're really going old school I guess," he commented, amused.

"I know it's such an old song, but it's totally a classic," she justified. Getting more serious, she added, "And it fits how I feel about Finn so perfectly." She felt a bit nervous being so honest to someone she didn't know so well, but she shouldn't have. Artie was very understanding. Quinn continued, "I especially love the lyrics about how the singer won't be afraid... nor cry. Because he has his 'darling' to stand by him. And Finn is that rock for me to stand up against too. I..." she looked at Artie, debating whether should she tell him. "I haven't told anyone this, not even Finn, but... I think my mom knows I'm pregnant. And I'm _so scared_ ," she breathed.

Artie rolled himself a bit closer to Quinn, then reached out his hand and placed it comfortingly on her leg. He was being too nice and she was still hormonal... and so she couldn't stop a single tear from falling down her face.

"I don't think I've ever heard a female cover version of it done before, but I think yours will be hauntingly beautiful," he kindly told her. She smiled and wiped her eye.

"Okay," she said, regaining her composure. "So do you want to meet again tomorrow after school to actually try singing these things?"

"Yeah," Artie replied. "I need some time to listen to the song and get ready, since I've never heard it before."

"I figured." She nodded and stood up, heading toward his bedroom door. She looked back at him one last time before leaving though, and quietly said, "Thank you." He just smiled and blinked hard, accepting her gratitude.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waiting_To_Be_Broken (Chris) is still my beta as of this chapter, and so to her I say thank you SO much. 
> 
> I did find a new team of Glee betas to help Waiting_To_Be_Broken out too. DreamingOfASoullessIan aka Jamie and Dawn (yeah they have a joint account on fanfiction.net) also started helping me beta this as of this chapter. Thank you so much.
> 
> For this one chapter, Dawn and Chris were my two betas. :D Thank you.
> 
> If you guys catch anything they missed about grammar/spelling/typos or about characterization/continuity/plot whatever, let me know though! I'd be happy to fix something. In any chapter, fixes can be made. Please just let me know.
> 
> Don't forget to try to find time to leave me a quick little review. Or a long one would be even better lol! Just any review at all though, it'd really make my day.


	12. Quinn Gets Kicked Out of Her House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a chapter I'd been dying to finally get to writing. I bet you all were looking forward to it too and I hope you enjoy it and the next one, too, because I didn't quite finish the whole kicking out of the house story, not really, but I felt like I was done with this chapter at this point, over 4,000 words. So I continued with chapter 13.

Quinn carefully placed her barrette in her hair with the help of her bedroom mirror, and then she slipped on a white sweater that looked nice on top of her light blue dress. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Finn would be there for dinner in only ten minutes. She sat back down on her bed and prayed one last time that everything would go smoothly. Her parents wouldn't make Finn unfairly uncomfortable. Her mom or Finn wouldn't reveal to her dad that she was pregnant.

She heard the doorbell ring. Finn was early. She jumped up off her bed and quickly walked downstairs to answer the door for her boyfriend.

"Hi," he said nervously. Finn gave her a second to take in his appearance. He was wearing a suit jacket and a tie and everything. She smiled and gave a single nod in approval.

"Hi," she replied back, trying to convey in her tone that she understood how nervous he was feeling. Quinn stepped aside so that Finn could enter the foyer.

"I guess we should just join them in the living room," Quinn suggested, obviously not thrilled by the idea but knowing they really had no choice. Finn shrugged and waited for her to lead the way.

When they entered the room, Judy and Russell both rose off the couch to greet them. Judy had a huge smile on her face and Russell put down his glass of scotch. "Would you like water? Pop? Anything non-alcoholic to drink?" he offered Finn politely.

"Uh, pop's good," Finn said nervously.

"I'll get it for you," Quinn said, leaving his side and heading over to the kitchen. She opened the cabinet and got out a glass, then poured some Diet Coke into it. It was the only type of soda they had in the house. She listened as her mother started interrogating her boyfriend in the other room.

"You don't have a father around, is that right?" Judy asked without any sympathy. Quinn shook her head, wondering how her mother could be so insensitive.

"Uh, no, he died around when I was born," Finn told her.

"So your mother works full time?" Judy asked incredulously. She seemed so unfamiliar with the idea of a mother needing to work full time.

"Mmm hmm," Finn confirmed.

"What does she do?" Russell chimed in, curious.

"She's a nurse," Finn replied, sounding unsure of if he should be proud of this fact or ashamed of it when talking to the Fabrays.

Quinn returned to the room and handed her boyfriend his drink, also holding one she'd poured for herself. She tried to think of a way to rescue Finn from the game of twenty questions that her parents seemed to have started playing.

"Mom, Dad, you should tell Finn more about yourselves and what you do!" she suggested. "Daddy, I'm not sure if your job ever came up in my conversations to Finn," she added, encouraging him to start telling Finn all about his job. Quinn knew her father well and while boring to hear her father get all caught up in explaining the details of his work, it was a safe topic that should last them at least until dinner was ready.

Her father went on with his monologue just like Quinn expected, which was long and boring, and Quinn felt a bit bad for her boyfriend, who had to try his hardest to listen intently. Russell's wall of sound was only broken up by brief pauses which were Finn's cues to reply with short phrases like "interesting", "sounds difficult", or "that's impressive". At one point, Judy, who was just as bored as Quinn, got up to check on the meal cooking in the kitchen. When she called out that it was done, Quinn decided to help her mother carry it all out to the dining room table. She assumed her father would lead Finn into the room.

"Your boyfriend seems like a perfect gentleman, just like you said he was," Judy commented once she and her daughter were alone in the kitchen. Quinn scooped the steaming mashed potatoes into a serving bowl.

"He really is the sweetest guy, Mom, I swear," Quinn replied quietly and sincerely. She knew what her mom was thinking. How could her daughter have ended up losing her virginity to someone unless he'd been a jerk and pressuring her? Quinn didn't know what to say to make her understand. The problem was that Quinn didn't think it ever _would_ have happened with Finn. But it wasn't exactly fair to completely blame Puck for her transgression either. He was pressuring her a bit but she'd wanted to kiss him... and wanted to keep going. She could have said "no". Quinn looked at her mother as she left the kitchen carrying the ham and wondered what her mother would think of Puck.

When all the food was on the table, they sat down and Finn started to reach for the rolls.

"Finn," Quinn whispered loud enough for the whole table to hear. He looked up at his girlfriend and saw her eyes widen with purpose and then she gently leaned her head toward her father. Finn looked toward him and discovered that Russell had his hands clasped and eyes closed and Finn realized he was supposed to wait while Quinn's father led the table in a prayer of grace.

Once grace had been said and thanks given to God for their food, they all proceeded to serve themselves and then begin to eat. Finn complimented the ham as soon as he tasted it and Russell proposed a toast and started going on about both of his daughters and how wonderful they were. Quinn was watching her father so she didn't notice her boyfriend's reaction to any of the statements in the toast until suddenly he stood up and interrupted him.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Finn blurted out. Russell lowered his glass that had been raised in proper toasting fashion and both of Quinn's parents looked at Finn like he had three heads. "Uh... too much pop," he added as an explanation. He started heading the wrong way for the bathroom and Judy corrected him. Quinn looked after him, pretty sure that her boyfriend standing up and interrupting her father like that was _not_ just because he needed to go to the bathroom all of a sudden. She worried about what he was thinking about during the speech. Her father _had_ just commented on her being president of the celibacy club and a shoe-in for princess at the chastity ball. Maybe he couldn't trust himself not to blurt out the truth about Quinn being pregnant and had to run away.

When Finn returned, he brought the kitchen radio with him, claiming he just needed to borrow it when Judy commented on it in surprise.

"Finn. What's this?" Quinn asked cautiously. Her boyfriend clearly had a plan of some kind and whatever it was, it was not going to be to just continue eating dinner and get through the evening smoothly. She didn't want Finn to ruin what had been going so well so far!

"Well... we have this assignment in glee club to sing a ballad," he explained a little nervously, but he was smiling. "They're all about expressing things you can't find any other way to say." He pulled a cassette tape out of his jacket pocket and put it into the player.

"Oh, God, Finn. Don't!" she replied sternly. "Please? Don't." She was begging him desperately. She didn't want him singing _anything_ in front of her parents, _especially_ not if it was going to somehow be a revelation about her pregnancy like she knew it was likely to be.

"No, I- I need to do this," he said calmly and with conviction, looking Quinn right in the eyes. "For both of us."

Quinn still didn't want him to do it. She was scared and she mouthed silently "no" and looked back and forth from the boom box to Finn's face but it seemed like he was determined and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

The very first line of the song he had chosen was "You're having my baby," and Quinn's worst suspicions about his song choice were confirmed. She squirmed uncomfortably, glaring in exasperation at Finn, while he kept singing. She refused to look at her parents and gauge their reactions. She wasn't ready to know what they were thinking yet so instead she just stared back at her boyfriend.

He was singing so lovingly to her and the lyrics were so sweet and more appropriate than he'd ever know – the song seemed to be about how choosing to have _his_ baby rather than someone else's showed just how much she loved him and he appreciated that. Maybe she was putting this interpretation into the song when really the song wasn't about that at all, but thinking about how she chose to make Finn the father for all intents and purposes instead of Puck, she felt like the lyrics really fit that situation she'd created. She was still so scared about what her parents might do or say when the song was over, but as Finn walked around the table so that he was standing right next to her as he continued singing sweetly to her, she started to let herself feel his love emanating from his voice. She smiled back at her boyfriend.

Abruptly the background music stopped and Finn was taken aback and took a second extra to stop singing. Russell had paused the tape and was now standing up and glaring angrily at Finn in a way that terrified Quinn. It looked like her father wanted to _kill_ her boyfriend. Quinn bit her lip and Finn stood as still as he could, and they waited for what felt like an eternity, but probably was only about a minute or so, for someone to speak. Quinn was the one who broke the silence.

"Daddy," she commented meekly, looking up at him. He turned from Finn to look at her but remained mute. She turned to her mother, still seated to her right. "Mom... please say something," she pleaded in a half-whisper. No one was saying anything though. Quinn looked back at her boyfriend who was still frozen in fear. She stood up and gently took his hand.

"Come on, let's all go into the living room and discuss this," Quinn said, determined to stay strong. She pulled her boyfriend away from her father and led him to one of the two couches. They waited for Quinn's parents to follow and join them. They were taking their time and Finn looked at Quinn apologetically for a moment.

"I... I'm really sorry," he apologized in a whisper. Quinn nodded. She knew he'd meant well even if she'd tried to warn him an innumerable number of times that this would happen.

Judy and Russell joined them in the living room, Russell sitting on the couch across from them and Judy choosing to sit on a chair off to the side. They still didn't say anything and Quinn was getting impatient.

"Mom, Dad... I'm pregnant," she told them, feeling like maybe stating the obvious was necessary. What they'd heard from the song was true. She really was pregnant. Her father's face still looked so angry and she stopped worrying about him only killing Finn and started worrying about him killing her too. Her mother finally reacted.

"There must be some sort of mistake here," she said, breathing a little too hard for Quinn to really buy that she believed that. "Quinny, we raised you right!" Judy's voice was near breaking and it was clear she was practically near tears. She knew her sixteen-year-old daughter was pregnant but couldn't understand how, when they'd made it _so_ clear to her while growing up that holding on to her virginity until marriage was of utmost importance. Her mother's voice was breaking Quinn's heart and she wasn't sure how to reply without bursting into tears.

"Yeah you- you did," Finn defended. "We... we didn't even have sex," he added, nervously dragging out the last word, and Quinn's eyes dropped to the floor. She felt so guilty for having lied to Finn about how she got pregnant.

"I'm sorry; can we just _stop_ with the lying, please?" Judy scolded.

"I'm-" Finn tried to retort but he was interrupted by Russell, who had apparently been off in his own little world.

"When you were about five years old, I took you and your sister down to an Indians' game," he started recollecting aloud to his daughter. Quinn looked back at him and he seemed heartbroken too. She'd never wanted to disappoint her parents like this. The pain in their eyes was eating at her more than she could have ever imagined it would. "All the other dads brought their sons, but my two girls were enough for me." Quinn couldn't stop a tear from leaving one of her eyes and streaming down her face.

"Daddy," she breathed, shaking her head, willing him to stop telling the story. But he continued.

"Your sister made it through the whole game, but you fell asleep in my lap." He swallowed, and seemed almost near tears himself, struggling to keep his composure. "I kept hoping nothing exciting would happen, 'cause I didn't want the crowd to get too loud. Wake you up." Quinn waited for him to finish his story, not letting any more tears escape her eyes. Russell shrugged slightly and shook his head a tiny bit. "Didn't matter," he said, looking down as he remembered more. "You stayed asleep in my arms," he finished, looking back at Quinn, "till the game ended."

"Daddy, I'm so sorry," she whispered, hoping he might appreciate just how sorry she truly was. He half-nodded, clearly not caring that she was sorry, and looked away from her, holding his tongue for a moment. He sighed loudly. Then he looked up at Finn.

"You need to leave," he told Finn, pointing his finger strongly. Finn was more than ready to obey his command and started to get up to do just that, but Quinn grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Wait," she said, her voice very high pitched because of her struggle to keep from crying. She looked back and forth between Finn and her father. "Please, Daddy, can we talk about this? Finn is a good guy!" Russell's eyes were pointed at the ground, refusing to make eye contact with his desperate daughter. "He loves me," she added.

"You too," he said simply, still staring towards his feet. It was such a harsh thing to say and Quinn was in shock.

"What?" she breathed practically inaudibly.

"Get out of my house," he clarified in a more severe tone, now looking back up at Quinn. She couldn't believe this was happening. He was actually kicking her out of the house.

"You can't do that, she didn't do anything wrong!" Finn replied, and Quinn truly appreciated his effort to help her, especially since she was lost for words at that moment. "Please, Mrs. Fabray, do something," he begged, starting to stand up. At the mention of her mother, Quinn noted her silence at him kicking her out of the house and the coldness of that lack of action shot through her like a knife stabbing her through the heart. She turned to look at her mother too and stood up just like her boyfriend.

"Don't bother, Finn," she replied, starting to cry but trying hard to keep her composure enough to keep talking. "If she wanted to do something she would have when she found out that I was pregnant." Finn was clearly confused to hear that she already knew... and Russell's voice from the other couch also conveyed a similar sentiment.

"You knew?"

"I..." She pursed her lips and shook her head, trying to defend herself. "No," she denied. "She didn't tell me anything."

"But you knew!" Quinn cried back, calling out her mother on her attempt to pretend she'd had no clue. "And I _needed_ you! I needed my mom," Quinn continued with a very shaky, high-pitched voice. "And you were so scared... of what he would do if he found out that you just pushed it aside, like we do every bad feeling in this house! If you don't talk about it, it doesn't exist."

"Now _do not_ turn this on us!" Russell suddenly roared, standing up for more effect. " _You_ are the disappointment here!" he yelled right at Quinn, pointing at her with his index finger too.

"Why?" Quinn asked. She swallowed and pursed her lips for a moment. "Because I'm not a little girl anymore? Because I made a mistake?" It wasn't fair that her father was treating her like this, and she knew it. People are _allowed_ to make mistakes. No one is perfect.

"Who are you?" Russell asked her seemingly seriously. Quinn wasn't sure what to say. "I don't recognize you at all."

"I'm your daughter," she replied, "who loves you!" She was so heartbroken that her father really was seeing her _that_ differently at that moment. She wondered if he loved her anymore. "And I know this must be _really hard_ for you. But I just need my daddy to hold me and tell me that it's gonna be okay." He looked down at the ground and put his hand to his face. Quinn thought he was taking her words to heart and she held her breath, hoping maybe, just maybe, he _would_ come over and wrap her in a loving embrace. After a moment, he did approach her but he didn't try to hug her. He just stood there.

"Please," she begged. But he just ignored her plea and walked away. That really hurt and Quinn let herself finally start to really cry. Her mother didn't surprise Quinn and hug her either, but rather started to stand up and follow Russell before he even called for her. And he did, commanding his wife to join him, clearly worried that she might actually be a good mother and disagree with how he was handling the "situation".

Quinn sat back down on the couch and Finn sat next to her, unsure of what to do. He just sat next to her, letting her cry. After a few minutes, she turned to look at him, wiping her cheeks with her sweater sleeve. She took a few deep breaths and tried to stop crying.

"Finn, I... I don't know where I can go," she told him with so much terror in her voice. "My sister lives kinda far away," she whispered, not wanting her parents to hear. "And I'd have to change schools and stuff, and she doesn't even know I'm pregnant." A few more tears trickled down her face. "Do you have any suggestions for me?" she asked with a small ironic laugh. Finn looked at her with sympathy and wanted to do something to help.

"I... I can't promise anything, but..." he looked at her nervously as he continued. "We could ask my mom if you could stay with us, for a few days at least." She was surprised by the offer and took a second to consider it. Finn's mom did already know about her being pregnant, and she was such a nice lady... she kind of loved the idea.

"That sounds really wonderful, Finn, but..." Quinn hesitated, thinking. "I can't ask your mom to do that for me. It's too much to ask, to put her on the spot like that, and if she says 'no' then I could never show my face at your house again!"

"Quinn," he replied. "She won't say 'no'. I know my mom. She won't. Don't worry about it," he assured her. She looked back into his eyes and he seemed so confident, she couldn't help but believe him. It seemed too good to be true, so she decided to try not to get her hopes up until after she heard Carole's answer.

"Alright," she replied. "Let's ask." Finn smiled, clearly happy that she was willing to try it. "I'm gonna go pack a bag, I guess..." she added, dreading the prospect of moving out of the house.

She left Finn on the couch and headed upstairs. Her parents weren't in their bedroom yet, thankfully, so she sneaked in and grabbed a suitcase, wondering if they'd miss it. Oh well, they could buy a new one, she needed most of her clothing, she wasn't sure when – _if_ – she was ever coming back. She realized she wouldn't need a lot of her clothing for too much longer; she'd need to buy maternity clothes soon anyway. She placed the suitcase on her bed and tried to decide what to take. She left the dress for the chastity ball on its hanger in her closet but took most of her regular clothes, unwilling to part with pretty much anything. Even her cheerios uniform she couldn't bear to leave behind in her dresser drawer.

She looked around her room for any non-clothing items to snag. Her alarm-clock might be useful, she realized, and she shoved it into her clothes. She realized she wanted to take some little hair things and perhaps some toiletries and needed some plastic Ziploc bags. Unfortunately, they were in the kitchen where her parents might be. She wasn't ready to potentially have to see their faces. She found her cell phone and texted Finn.

_Hey can you do me a favor?_

_Sure_

_Can you get me some ziploc bags from the kitchen?_

_Okay. How many?_

_3_

She waited for him to bring the bags to her. He was nice and quick about it. He came up the stairs and for the first time ever entered her bedroom to deliver them to her.

"I got four just in case," he said, and she smiled.

"Thank you," she replied. She considered asking him if her parents had been in there but decided against it. She put her hair things such as barrettes, ponytail ties, and bobby pins into one bag.

"So this is your room," Finn commented, looking around.

"Well, not for long," Quinn joked sarcastically, acting like she didn't care.

"I'm really sorry," Finn replied. "I can't believe your dad just... kicked you out like this."

"I know, I really can't quite believe it either," she said as she left her room and headed into the bathroom to get the rest of her things.

Once all of the items were retrieved and she'd fit as much as she could into the suitcase, she was ready to leave. She made sure she had her iPod, cell phone, and wallet, then pulled her zipped up suitcase off of her bed, ready to carry it to the stairs.

"Why aren't you rolling it?" Finn asked, gesturing toward the wheels.

"My parents wouldn't want me to damage the hard wood floor in the hallway," she explained. Quinn realized as soon as she said it that she shouldn't care about what her parents would or wouldn't want at this point, but she just couldn't break the habit of considering their wishes. Not tonight at least. Not that quickly.

"Here, let me help you," Finn offered as he saw his pregnant girlfriend consider carrying the heavy piece of luggage down the flight of stairs.

"Thanks," she said, accepting the help. He carried it down with relative ease and she followed him. Quinn looked around, wondering if she should say goodbye to her parents. Finn waited, watching her carefully. He knew how hard this must be for her.

"Finn, could you please carry this out to the car? I'll meet you out there in a minute," she promised. He nodded.

"Sure," he replied, and she opened the front door for him. Once he and the suitcase were on the walkway, heading toward his car, she closed it behind him, not wanting to let in any bugs.

She headed over to the kitchen to look for her parents but they weren't there. She looked around more and found them back in the dining room, finishing up the dinner the four of them had started. She realized she hadn't eaten much before Finn had interrupted with his song and she was still a bit hungry. Her parents didn't notice her standing in the door frame, watching them eat. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Goodbye," she announced. "In case you were wondering, we're going to ask Finn's mom if I can stay there for a few days. Hopefully she'll be a bit more... _understanding_ than you were," she told them harshly. She looked back and forth from her mother to her father. She wanted them to know she was leaving. She'd also like for them to know where she would be in case they changed their minds and let her come back home. "So yeah, bye," she finished, and without waiting for them to reply, she turned and left them behind.

She walked briskly to the door and closed it behind her quickly, realizing she was a bit chilly and had forgotten her coat, but not wanting to go back inside to get it. She just continued to Finn's car and climbed in the passenger's seat. She couldn't bear to look Finn in the eyes just yet, so she just stared determinedly ahead.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. She considered the question for a moment, and then nodded. She was. She was fine. She had to be.

"Just drive," she replied.


	13. Moving Into the Hudson House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I picked up this chapter right where the previous one left off. I messed up the previous chapter a bit because I forgot before writing it to watch the Kurt/Finn scene near the end of 1x10 "Ballad" that explained a couple more details about what happened when Quinn got kicked out. I didn't really stray that far from what happened but... at the same time... I really wish I'd worked that in more. Whoops. Well for future chapters I'll try to be a bit more careful. I'm really sorry for forgetting about those details. For this and the previous chapter let's just pretend that Finn was the only one who knew those details (that her father gave her half an hour to pack – he set the timer on the microwave) and Quinn was oblivious – that technically doesn't stray from the continuity at all, it theoretically could be how it happened. Probably wasn't what the writers intended but oh well. It's my version of events, it's how I'm choosing to make up for my mistake.

Finn drove Quinn back to his house in silence, the weight of what had just happened making the air around them seem heavy. Quinn wasn't sure what Finn's mother would say about her staying there. Quinn was also worried just in general about seeing Carole for the first time since Carole knew the big secret. In addition, she worried about how her sister would react when she found out everything and wondered if one of her parents would reveal it to Gabi. She considered whether or not she wanted that – would it be better to break the news to her herself or not? Quinn continued to contemplate these issues as Finn gripped the steering wheel firmly, knowing better than to interrupt her thoughts.

They arrived at the house, then exited the car. Quinn felt chilly immediately and pulled her small sweater tighter. They exchanged glances while eying the trunk which contained all of Quinn's luggage.

"Let's leave it until we find out what your mom says," Quinn suggested, desperate to get out of the cold fall air anyway. Finn nodded and they headed up the stone path to the front door. Quinn considered where she could go tonight if Carole turned her down. She realized that Mr. Schue's apartment might be a good option. She didn't know where he lived, but she had Terri's phone number... and she couldn't imagine them turning her down. Mr. Schue was so sweet to her after finding out she was pregnant and Terri wanted her baby and wouldn't do something to jeopardize that.

Still, as they entered the house and noticed the light on in the basement, Quinn couldn't help herself from silently pleading with God for a moment. She needed Carole to say "yes". Staying at her teacher's place wasn't exactly a good alternative option. The teenagers started to head into the basement where Mrs. Hudson was doing laundry, Quinn lingering more at the top of the stairs while Finn headed down further. She appreciated him taking the initiative to ask his mom for her. She wasn't sure she'd be able to get the words out herself.

"Honey, how many times have I told you?" Carole started to casually reprimand Finn after hearing his footsteps. Her back was turned to him. She was fixing her son's shirt before putting it in the machine while continuing to speak. "You gotta turn these t-shirts right side out before you-" she stopped mid-sentence, seeing Finn's face and realizing something was up.

"Um," Finn started a little hesitantly, turning to look at his girlfriend briefly. "Mom, Quinn's parents threw her out." Carole quickly turned to look at the girl sympathetically. Quinn felt the harshness of what her parents had done wash over her between Finn's words and his mom's eyes, and Quinn tried to ignore the painful emotions. "Could she stay here for a couple of days?" Carole nodded, still staring at Quinn, then turned back to her son.

"Yeah, of course she can." Finn swallowed, very grateful that his mom was being so great about this. He turned to look at his girlfriend, but Quinn wasn't really ready to react yet. Carole turned back to look at Quinn, continuing, "Honey, you can stay here as long as you want."

Quinn half-nodded and tried to smile, but she was having trouble holding back tears so it didn't really look like much. She gave herself another couple of seconds, then managed to respond.

"Thank you." She turned to her boyfriend. "I'll go get my bag out of the car," she informed him, and without waiting for a response she quickly turned away and walked through the hallway, then exited the house.

She let herself breathe once outside. And let a few tears come out as well. She was so glad she had a place to sleep that night but still the whole evening had a surreal quality to it for her. It felt like a nightmare that she was sure to wake up from soon; nothing was fully fazing her yet, and yet at the same time she knew it _was_ real and it was all hurting her. Grabbing her heavy suitcase and pulling it out of the trunk, she tried to focus on the simple action and not think about anything else. She rolled it back to the house, then opened the door and started to roll it inside, closing the door behind her. Finn and Carole were talking upstairs, in one of the bedrooms, and she paused to eavesdrop.

"Her dad was so loud and scary, it's hard to explain," Finn was telling his mother.

"I don't understand how people can be so horrible to their own children," Carole replied quietly.

Quinn stopped straining herself in order to eavesdrop, not wanting to hear any more for fear of not being able to hold back more tears. She decided to just head up the stairs with her suitcase. Hearing her, Finn and Carole poked their heads out of the bedroom door.

"Hey, let me help you with that," Finn offered, noticing Quinn struggle a bit. He hurried down to her and took the bag from her. Quinn smiled appreciatively. While he took the bag the rest of the way upstairs, Carole lingered at the top, looking down at Quinn.

"Honey, why don't you come upstairs? We're setting up the guest bedroom for you now, I hope that's okay." Quinn nodded and headed to join the Hudsons. She was glad they had a guest bedroom. It avoided the awkwardness of her having to sleep on the couch – or worse, in Finn's bed. Oh how awkward _that_ would be, considering they'd never even had sex, and never even been in either of each other's beds ever before, but Carole would surely think that they had. Quinn half-smiled to herself at the thought of such a situation.

Finn put the suitcase in the corner of the room and Carole showed Quinn the dresser with three drawers that were empty and free for use, then gestured to a closet.

"Make yourself at home," she told Quinn kindly, and as much as Quinn truly did appreciate it, she also hated it. She could not possibly feel at home in this guest bedroom that it looked like no one had ever once inhabited. However Quinn smiled and nodded.

"Thank you so much," Quinn said.

"Finn told me you probably are still hungry, as not much was eaten at dinner, so I'm gonna heat something up. You can come downstairs and join us if you want," Carole offered.

Quinn nodded again, wishing she could say more, and then watched as her boyfriend and his mother left her alone to get settled in her new bedroom. She unpacked quickly, easily organizing things similar to how she'd always organized them. Her underwear, socks, and pajamas all fit in the top drawer just like they'd always been in her own house, her dresses all hung up in the closet, her alarm clock had a spot that worked nicely right on the nightstand next to the bed; everything was almost the same as before. But everything here felt so temporary and she wondered if anything would ever feel permanent again. She wanted that safe feeling, that feeling of "home", but she realized that honestly she hadn't actually felt all that "at home" even in her own bedroom ever since she had taken that pregnancy test. And right then at that moment she really felt like she might never feel "at home" again; not anywhere, ever.

The feelings overwhelmed her, and she sat down slowly on the edge of the bed and started to cry. She made the effort to be quiet about it because the door to the room was still open. She could hear Finn and his mom making some noise in the kitchen and she didn't want them to hear her. She tried to just let the tears come, tried to let her emotions out, but after a good five minutes of crying and not really feeling any better, she decided she needed to join them or else Finn's mom might come to check on her. She looked around the room and saw no mirror so she headed out of the bedroom and found the bathroom. She'd never really been upstairs in Finn's house before. She conveniently found tissues to dry her eyes with in there as well as the much needed mirror on the medicine cabinet to make sure she looked presentable.

When she finally entered the kitchen, she saw some mac and cheese on the table where Finn and Carole were already sitting down and eating, and Quinn smiled. Carole had put out an empty plate, a small glass, a napkin, and a fork for her and she remembered just how much she'd always loved sharing meals with Finn and his mom. She loved the quiet, intimate, atmosphere of this kitchen and this beautiful little family of only two that always seemed so happy to welcome her in. She loved the simplicity of the meals and how different they were from what her mom always made. Quinn picked up her plate and took the serving spoon, ready to eat finally a very late Sunday evening dinner.

"Oh hun, do you want something to drink? Water? Something else?" Carole politely offered, reaching her hand out toward Quinn's empty glass, ready to get up and pour something for the girl.

"Oh no, I'm fine, I can get myself some water," Quinn replied, finishing putting some food on her plate, then taking hold of the glass herself. She headed over to the sink and turned on the faucet and Mrs. Hudson relaxed and went back to eating her meal.

"So Finn has to head into school early tomorrow to finish up his ballad assignment for glee. His partner's Kurt; who is your partner?" Carole asked Quinn, trying to come up with a safe topic to discuss.

"Oh, yes, the ballads," Quinn said, laughing a bit at the irony of how not safe the topic really was. The ballad Finn had just sung had caused this whole mess of her getting kicked out of her house. But she truly appreciated Finn's mom intention. "I have to meet up with Artie, my partner, tomorrow morning too. We can go into school at the same time," she answered. "And yeah Artie, he's... I'm not sure if you have ever seen him before, but he's the kid in the wheelchair in our club," she explained quietly, hoping as she said it that she wasn't being too rude to even mention that.

"Oh, a wheelchair, that's... difficult," Carole replied understandingly. "Has he been in it his whole life? Do you know?"

"Actually, I never asked," Quinn admitted. "He's been in it as long as I've known him... like since middle school. He went to a different elementary school than me," Quinn explained. "Finn, did you go to the same elementary school as Artie?" she asked, turning to look at her boyfriend.

"Um, I really don't know," Finn said. "I never really noticed him till we were in glee club together... but... I don't notice a lot of people."

Quinn and Carole accepted that answer; it was fair enough, and they went on eating. Quinn realized while eating that she'd need to do something about getting her car at some point – it was still in her parents' driveway. She wondered why she hadn't thought to drive it here. Her parents would still let her keep her car... right? She didn't voice her thoughts though, and they ate in a fairly comfortable silence.

"Well, tomorrow I have to be up even earlier than Finn for my job," Carole mentioned as she finished eating her serving, and took her plate over to the dishwasher. "I get such different shift times sometimes, so... well right now I best be getting to bed," she said to her son and his girlfriend. "Quinn, honey, do you need anything for tonight... or tomorrow morning?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Hudson," Quinn replied, "but I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Alright. Oh! Finn, make sure you show her where the clean towels are when you head back upstairs so that she can shower in the morning," she added to her son before leaving them alone in the kitchen.

Finn and Quinn finished eating fairly quickly, then took care of their dishes and awkwardly looked around the empty, quiet kitchen before Finn headed over to the light switch. He waited to flick it off until Quinn had left the room and was on her way back to the staircase. Neither of them knew what to say to the other so everything kept being done in a somewhat tense silence. Finn seemed afraid he might break his girlfriend if he said anything and Quinn just had no clue what to say. She also wasn't sure what to think or feel, for that matter.

Quinn headed into her new bedroom and shut the door behind her, then put on her nightgown. Looking down at her body she thought her baby bump was a bit more obvious while wearing such an unshaped piece of clothing, and she wondered for a moment how much bigger she would get. She carefully grazed her gold cross necklace with her fingers, not wanting to take it off. She never took it off. She wanted Jesus to be protecting her always, even now when she'd let him down by getting pregnant, and having the symbol of his forgiveness right there on her neck at all times really helped her feel a little more loved and forgiven. She took her barrette out of her hair and placed it carefully in her bag of hair things that she'd just put on the dresser, then left the room again, this time holding onto some of her toiletries.

Finn was in the bathroom already though, door open – he was just brushing his teeth. She'd never seen him brush his teeth before and the sight was a bit amusing and surprisingly cute. She'd also never seen her boyfriend in his boxers before, which apparently were all he slept in.

"Don't you have any pajamas?" Quinn asked him, giggling. He seemed a bit embarrassed and spit out into the sink, then thoroughly rinsed all traces of toothpaste out of his mouth.

As he cleaned off his toothbrush he replied, "Well I do, but I only wear them when my grandmother is in town."

Quinn smiled, waiting for her turn to use the bathroom – she needed it for her usual bedtime rituals. Finn finished up and finally turned to really look at Quinn for the first time since she'd walked over there. He looked her over for a few moments, taking in her appearance in a nightgown. He'd never seen her like that before.

"You look really pretty," he told her truthfully, and Quinn felt an unusual feeling of intimacy between herself and Finn at that moment. They were both wearing less than usual and, while their casual sleepwear never had been sexy before, in that moment it kind of was. And more than that, it was intimate in the somewhat platonic sense that they each were seeing an additional side of who their significant other really was. The more details you know about someone else, the more intimately you know them. Quinn having seen her boyfriend right before bed, seeing the boxers he chooses to sleep in and how he brushes his teeth, and him seeing her in the nightgown she usually only wore around immediate family members are some of those details that made her relationship to him more intimate. They just knew more about each other now; more raw, private, personal things about each other.

"I love you," she replied quietly but sincerely. "And you don't look too bad yourself," she added with a more playful smirk, glancing back down at his bare abs.

"Thanks," he answered with a nervous smile as he exited the bathroom. "Go ahead," he said, gesturing with his hand that she could enter. "You can keep your stuff in there if you want," he added kindly, "and, oh, the clean towels are all in this closet right here." He was pointing to a linen closet in the very small upstairs hallway, directly across from the door to the bathroom.

"Goodnight," Quinn said, and she watched as her boyfriend disappeared into his bedroom. She went through her usual routines, and things weren't all that much different than when she was at her own house, not really. She tried to convince herself that things were really not that bad; staying here could be nice even. She finished up and climbed into her new bed, first turning off the light in this new room of hers. As soon as she was in the bed she was reminded yet again that her pregnant body made finding comfortable sleeping positions practically impossible. Her breasts were noticeably more and more sore each day, it seemed! She squirmed under the sheets, trying to get herself settled, and she found that the bed was a bit harder than what she was used to, and the pillow under her head too wimpy – she missed her soft bed and fluffy pillow.

After figuring out a reasonably comfortable position, however, Quinn did manage to fall asleep. The stress and intensity of that day had worn her out and she slept solidly through the night. She didn't wake up until her alarm the next morning, and when she got out of bed, Finn's bedroom door was still closed, so she assumed he was sleeping. Carole appeared to have already left for work, and Quinn grabbed herself a towel from the closet and figured out how to work the Hudson's shower. When she was finished, she found her most "stretchy" pair of jeans and put them on, grateful that they still fit, and found a puffy yellow shirt that was both stylish and hid her baby bump wonderfully. She remembered the date, picturing a calendar in her mind, and realized maternity clothes shopping would have to commence very soon now that the first trimester of her pregnancy was actually officially over as of that very day. But for now she was holding onto wearing her old clothes for as long as they would fit her. She found a matching yellow headband and slipped it on.

She heard footsteps and realized Finn was probably awake. She was jealous that boys were so much faster at showering and getting ready for school than girls. She heard the shower turn on while she slipped on her shoes. Remembering that Carole was gone, Quinn realized that her usual routine of going downstairs to her own mother having made breakfast for her was probably _not_ what Finn was accustomed to. He probably ate a bowl of cereal every morning... she wondered what options she would have for her own breakfast.

* * *

Finn drove Quinn to school once they were both showered and dressed, and after they had indeed both eaten some cold cereal with milk. When they got to school, Quinn went to meet up with Artie in Mr. Schue's classroom where he always taught Spanish, Finn parting ways with her to meet Kurt in the auditorium. When Quinn got to the classroom, Artie wasn't there yet, so she sat down and waited for him. She used all of her willpower to focus on anything other than the fact that she didn't see her parents that morning and wouldn't be seeing them when she got home from school either. She missed them and couldn't even let herself think about whether or not they missed her.

After a few minutes of staring at the variety of Spanish phrases and pictures of culturally relevant items from Spanish-speaking countries on posters throughout the room, and trying to figure out how much effort Mr. Schuester had put into picking them out, she got impatient and pulled out her phone to text her partner.

_Where are you?_

After hitting "send" she decided to practice singing her own ballad briefly. She started walking over to shut the door because she didn't want other people in the school hallway to hear her but was stopped by Artie finally arriving, rolling himself in as fast as he could.

"I'm so sorry to keep you waiting," he apologized, and Quinn felt bad that he rushed here, probably tiring his arms out before the school day had even begun.

"It's okay," she replied.

"The reason I'm late," he explained, "is that all of us in Glee decided to do something different for our ballad assignment than what Mr. Schue had maybe intended."

"Oh?" Quinn wasn't sure what he meant.

"Yeah, and we were busy rehearsing. I didn't notice the time until I was already late."

"Artie, explain please!" Quinn begged him, very curious now.

"It's a surprise. For you," Artie said with a beam. Then he reached up to grab Quinn's hand and jerked it gently toward him for a second as he started to turn away from her using his other hand. Then he let go and used both of his hands to turn his wheelchair all the way around. "Come on," he added, turning his head back to face her for a moment, indicating clearly that Quinn should follow him.

When they got to the glee classroom, almost everyone was already there: Tina, Santana, Brittany, Rachel, Puck, and Mike. Even Mr. Schue was there with a huge smile plastered on his face, and there were two empty chairs moved to a position in the front of the room, clearly indicating that whoever sat there would be the center of attention.

"Sit down right there," Puck sweetly said, pointing to one of the two chairs, and Quinn looked back up at him curiously, wondering what was going on. Why was the entire glee club asking her to sit down and be the center of attention while they all stood in front of her? Who was the second chair for? Did they somehow find out already that she'd been kicked out of her house? She had so many questions.

Mercedes and Kurt entered the room, dragging with them a just as bewildered Finn and he joined Quinn by sitting in the other chair.

"Do you know what's going on?" he asked his girlfriend. Quinn shook her head.

"Your fellow glee club members wanna sing a song for you guys," Mr. Schue announced, "to let you know how they feel about you."

"Oh- what are you gonna sing?" Finn asked.

"Just listen," Rachel answered. "The song says everything."

Everyone started singing and Brad started playing piano. Quinn tried to recognize the song but she didn't until Artie started singing the first verse. And then she immediately recognized it. "Lean on Me" was another classic oldie similar to the song she'd told Artie she wanted to do for their Ballad assignment. And it was such a sweet song.

As she realized the whole glee club was singing this song to her and Finn with the intention of expressing that they were there for them, she started to smile. They were all too nice to her throughout this whole pregnancy so far and with her parents kicking her out, which they all probably didn't even know yet, she really needed this. She really needed a reminder that she had people who loved her in her life and would help her through the next few difficult months no matter what, even if they weren't her family. Glee could be her new family.

The club looked like they were having a lot of fun with the song, dancing with each other and every person smiling a lot, often turning back and forth between each other and staring at Quinn and Finn. They also were doing an impressive job with it, and she was reminded of how "Keep Holding On", while completely impromptu, was really one of the best ones they'd ever done. Maybe she was biased but it really felt like when they had a reason to be singing, such as to express a sentiment to Quinn, then they did it with more passion and it really showed through.

When the song seemed to be nearing the end, and the lyrics "call me" kept being repeated, Quinn noticed Puck smiling at her specifically, and she really felt how much he cared about her. She couldn't resist biting her lip nervously while staring back for a second before smiling and turning back to the whole crowd still singing for her benefit.

Mercedes sang a brief solo part that was very nicely done, starting all quiet and then intensifying... and as she got louder she started to run over to Finn and Quinn and she grabbed their hands! She pulled Quinn and Finn up to join them and Quinn couldn't help but laugh with pure joy washing over her. The fateful evening before had broken her heart and caused her to cry many times that evening, and even earlier that morning she was struggling to imagine a time when she'd feel truly happy again. But then here she was, being dragged into happiness before the school day had even started, and at that moment, she couldn't have wished for anything better.

Quinn went with the flow of the dancing and started bouncing with them. Santana put her arm around her and Brittany hugged her from the side as they kept singing and dancing. People like Mike were doing similar things for Finn, and Mr. Schue was sort of conducting in front of all of them. As the song ended with some very impressive singing from Mercedes, Quinn smiled - first at her and then at everyone.

Looking around, she found she was luckier than she'd ever realized. She had Finn, plus his mom was so sweet, and she also had someone there for her in Mr. Schue, and in all of these surprisingly good friends in the glee club: from Rachel, whom she'd been so jealous of but who was fully participating in this super kind thing for her and Finn; to Puck, who was accepting her choice to keep the paternity of her baby a secret; to even her new sweet friend Artie. She would probably have a lot of trouble stopping herself from smiling for the entire rest of the school day after this amazing performance, dedicated to her. As far as Mondays go, this was going to be a really good one. It was the start of her second trimester. It was the start of "no more secrets" which was refreshing in a way, not always having to go home to parents who didn't know she was pregnant. She woke up today in a new bed and ate a new type of breakfast. It was a new week and the start of so many new things for Quinn, but she was finally ready for them all, whatever came her way: after all, she could always lean on the glee club if she needed help.


	14. Maternity Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, a huge thank you to the person who betaed my fic. This time it's a single person, and a new person – Spencer aka danceforevergirl. My betas I had before are busy now, which is understandable, since it had actually been 6 months since I last asked for their help. Yes, when I first posted this fic on fanfiction.net there was a 6 month gap between the posting of chapter 13 and chapter 14. I'm kind of horrible like that. :P So yeah, this time... Thank you so much, danceforevergirl!
> 
> And like always, if any of you guys catch anything she & I missed about grammar/spelling/typos or about characterization/continuity/plot whatever, let me know! I'd be happy to fix something.

Quinn was sitting at the kitchen table in the Hudson household, trying to finish up her math homework. Finn had football after school and Carole was working, so Quinn was all alone in the house and was having trouble concentrating in the complete silence. She briefly wondered if Carole or Finn owned any good CDs, and glanced toward the living room where there was a small stereo. Looking back at the words in the textbook in front of her and realizing that she was not actually comprehending any of them, she decided to put down her pencil. Then she reached down into her backpack which was on the floor next to her chair, and pulled out her cell phone.

She gently ran her thumb over the keys, thinking. She was tempted to call her mom and tell her how much she missed her. It'd been a week and two days since she'd spoken to her parents – nine days since that fateful Sunday evening when she was thrown out of her house without a shred of sympathy. She wished her mom would call her. Quinn used to tell her mom about school every day. It was a simple thing that she never thought she'd miss, but now... now all of the little things were really starting to get to her. It felt so weird to suddenly not be on speaking terms with her mother anymore. Judy knew Quinn's number; she could call her daughter if she wanted. Quinn considered the idea that her mother was still just going along with whatever her father was currently mandating. Russell had probably told his wife not to even think about contacting their younger child, and Judy was probably too cowardly to go behind his back and attempt to be a good mom. Quinn sighed and tried to forget about both of her parents.

She then thought about calling Terri Schuester. After all, she really was desperate for money and although Terri had already turned her down once when she asked for monetary aid, perhaps if Quinn stressed her case more, Mrs. Schue might feel obligated to help. Finn hadn't been able to keep up the pretense that he was wheelchair-bound for very long, so he had been fired from that one job before he'd even earned enough to pay for that single doctor's bill. Of course, the notices were being mailed to the Fabray household, so Quinn decided to let the bill become her parents' problem. However, Quinn was finally at the point in her pregnancy where she faced a new expense - she needed some maternity clothes. Every day the baby girl inside of her was growing, and every day her clothes got just a bit tighter and harder to squeeze into. Even the loosest fitting things she owned no longer really fit. She hated how big she was getting, but consciously made an effort to not consider it getting fat. Quinn knew that she was pregnant, and her abdomen growing was only normal - regardless of how much she might feel like she was becoming a fat freak. Even her face was starting to reflect the fact that she was pregnant and Quinn hated that. On the bright side, she'd also noticed that her morning sickness had lessened a lot over the past few days, and hoped at least _that_ would be a permanent change.

Quinn ran her fingers across the buttons of her phone, hesitating over the numeral four and thinking about her speed dial. If she just pressed this number and then hit "send", she'd be calling her sister, Gabrielle. Quinn didn't _think_ her parents had told Gabi about the pregnancy yet, but she wasn't sure. Quinn figured, most likely, if Gabi had known, she'd have tried to contact Quinn. Quinn desperately wanted her sister to know, but still was afraid that Gabrielle might take the news poorly. Quinn wasn't sure if she could handle another family member so disappointed in her.

Gabrielle would be at work for another hour or so, Quinn realized, so if she called Gabi's house now, Quinn would just get her answering machine. Quinn came to the conclusion that this could be the perfect compromise between talking to her sister and not calling at all. She could just leave a message in order to spill the news, and then be able to hang up without having to deal with any reaction - at least not right away. And with Finn and Mrs. Hudson both out of the house, Quinn had complete privacy to make any phone call she wanted. She decided it'd be only smart to take full advantage of the relatively rare opportunity.

She pressed the buttons and then put the phone up to her ear, listening to it ring about five times before the answering machine picked up. Quinn had tried to plan ahead what she'd say, but when she heard the beep, she suddenly panicked and froze, hanging up quickly.

She took a few breaths, then tried dialing again. This time, she'd be ready. After the tone, she started her message immediately, her voice only moderately shaky.

"Hi, Gabi. It's me, Quinn. I'm not sure if you talked to Mom or Dad lately... but um... well..." Quinn faltered at this point in the message, unsure of how to continue. After pausing for a full five or so seconds, she continued, "I'm pregnant. About three months in now, actually. It's... it's a girl," Quinn added. She realized as she said it that her parents didn't even know that, which caused her heart to break a bit more than it already had. She tried to keep her voice from breaking as she willed herself to simply finish the message. "I'll probably be giving her up to be adopted. I... I don't think there's any way I _can_..." Quinn trailed off, leaving silence again in the message, as a few tears silently escaped from her eyes. She needed to finish quickly, and hang up. "Please don't hate me," she begged her sister. "I know Dad does, he's... he's _so_ disappointed in me, but please, I need you to understand. I made a mistake... a huge mistake." Quinn was speaking really quickly now, the words just tumbling out of her. "I know you never made a mistake like this, but maybe you can understand anyway," she finished. She considered if she should say anything else for a moment , but deciding against adding much more to the already quite long message, she ended, "Bye."

She hit the red button on her cell phone and took a deep breath, wiping a tear off her cheek. It was done. She'd confessed everything to her sister – and probably to her sister's husband too, since they shared an answering machine. Now she just had to wait for Gabi to hopefully call her back. She looked back down at the math problem that she'd stopped midway through, and picked up her pencil again. She had to finish this homework. With a new-found determination to get an A in the class, she powered through the rest of the math problems while trying to forget about the ones she had in her life. Her real problems.

* * *

Later that evening, Quinn was sharing a nice dinner with Finn and Carole. Quinn looked over at her boyfriend who was pushing his peas to the edge of his plate, clearly not the biggest fan of the vegetable. Quinn, on the other hand, was finding the peas quite delicious. She hadn't ever enjoyed food as much as she did while pregnant, especially healthy food. She devoured them with pleasure, so focused on the vegetable that she didn't realize Mrs. Hudson was watching her with a smile.

"Honey?" Carole asked sweetly, interrupting her eating in as unobtrusive a way as she possibly could. Quinn looked up at her boyfriend's mother and swallowed.

"Yes?"

"I noticed yesterday that you... don't seem to have a jacket when you leave for school. Did you, um, bring one with you?"

Quinn immediately felt her cheeks turn a bit red. Carole was being so motherly, so observant about such a small detail. Quinn truly did appreciate her noticing. Still, she also couldn't help but feel embarrassed to have forgotten to pack a coat of any kind when she knew winter was fast approaching. Plus, to make matters worse, she didn't have any money and therefore no way to buy a new one.

"I... you're right," Quinn admitted. "I didn't grab any jacket before leaving my house." She glanced down at her plate, averting her eyes away from Mrs. Hudson for a moment.

"Well, if you want to come with me to the mall tomorrow, we can try and buy you something," Carole offered. "It's my day off from work, and I was gonna go anyway to get some new jeans. So, if you want to come with me, you're welcome to," she said kindly. As his mother invited his girlfriend out to go shopping, Finn sat silently sitting in between the two women, awkward and uncomfortable. He kept eating as his mother continued, "Of course, if you need any other clothing too... I can help you pick something out."

"I... I really appreciate that offer," Quinn replied, meekly smiling. It sounded like Carole realized she probably needed some maternity clothing as well, and it meant a lot to Quinn that someone both noticed and cared. "I don't exactly have much money, though," she tried to explain.

"Aw, sweetie, I didn't expect you to pay. I mean... don't expect that I can buy you a five hundred dollar coat or something since, as you can probably tell, I don't really make all thatmuch," Carole joked, gesturing slightly at her surrounding house, "but I can afford to help you out so that you won't freeze!"

Quinn smiled. "Thanks, Mrs. Hudson. I... think I'll take you up on that."

"Great," Carole replied. "As soon as you get back from school tomorrow, we can get in my car and go."

"Should I come too?" Finn chimed in, looking back and forth between the two women. "I don't have practice tomorrow," he added.

Quinn hesitated, unsure of what she should answer. Finn joining her to shop for maternity clothing just didn't sound like very much fun. Finn was such a guy. He wouldn't have any useful opinions on how things looked. Luckily, Finn's mom answered for Quinn.

"I don't think there's any reason for you to join us," she answered. "Us girls will have a nice chance to hang out alone for once, and you won't have to be bored waiting while we try on clothing," she elaborated.

"Okay," Finn responded simply.

* * *

When Quinn headed up to the guest room that night, ready to get changed into her nightgown and go to sleep, she found herself thinking of it as simply "her" room - she'd already gotten pretty accustomed to her new living arrangements. She checked her phone, but had no new voicemails or missed calls. Gabi must have gotten the message, Quinn knew. But Gabrielle wasn't calling her back. This made Quinn feel melancholy, as she couldn't help but think about what this probably meant. Gabi wasn't going to be as supportive as Quinn was hoping she might be.

Quinn brushed her teeth before Finn that night, then tried to pick out an outfit for school the next day. It was November already, and Ohio was getting quite chilly. She still didn't have a jacket and wouldn't until she and Carole presumably found one on their shopping trip. Quinn's mother's voice was stuck in her head, harping on about how being in the cold would make her sick, and for her unborn daughter's sake Quinn knew that she really should avoid catching anything, and therefore was tempted to wear something warm. She didn't have many warm outfits though, especially not ones that would fit over her baby bump.

She found some tights to wear on her bare legs that she knew would help at least a tiny bit when it came to whether or not she was going to freeze, and next pulled a skirt that still sort of fit her out of the closet. Then she tried to pick out a shirt from the drawers. None of the ones that still fit her were all that flattering though, at least not in Quinn's own opinion. Finally she settled on something short sleeved along with a relatively warm sweater that probably couldn't be buttoned up anymore, but could still be worn. She set up the outfit for the next morning, then got under her covers and let herself drift off to sleep.

* * *

"Sectionals are coming up!" Will excitedly reminded the glee club as he entered the classroom that morning, carrying with him a magazine of some kind.

"We know, Mr. Schue," Santana replied in a somewhat bored tone.

"But what you _don't_ know," he replied, speaking to the entire class and not just Santana, "is that today is the day when we pick out our costume choice and send in our measurements!"

Quinn tensed up. Costumes? Measurements? Like when she got fitted for the chastity ball... and then the dress didn't fit a mere month later? She gently rested her hand on her pregnant belly, thinking about the baby that would only continue to grow for what, at the moment, felt like it would be the entire foreseeable future.

Kurt jumped up out of his seat and ran over to his teacher, practically wrestling the show choir costume catalog out of his hand.

"Which ones are we allowed to pick from?" he asked.

"Well, there are no rules for costumes other than the fact that we must all be wearing the same basic colors," Will replied. "So I guess... most of them?"

Quinn was pretty sure she had never seen Kurt's face light up to quite this degree before. It was kind of cute, and she found herself wishing she had something in her life to get that excited about. The entire club sat there for a minute as Kurt scanned through the pages at a record pace, and Quinn hoped maybe, just maybe, Kurt would have enough sense to pick out a costume option that would hide her pregnancy to some degree rather than accentuate it.

"May I say something, Mr. Shue?" Rachel started, clearly about to continue no matter his response. "I just don't know if it's fair for you to just let Kurt pick out our costumes. Shouldn't we all have a say? Or at least... I mean maybe a girl's opinion would be helpful..." she trailed off as she got up to join Kurt in looking at all the potential outfits the club could wear to sectionals.

* * *

"So did the club manage to come to a decision?" Carole asked from behind the steering wheel as she pulled into the parking lot of the Allen County Mall.

"Yeah," Quinn replied from the passenger seat with a smile. "We all ended up voting on our favorite costume, and the only one that got more than one vote ended up being the one I voted for. It's a black dress with a hot pink, almost red ribbon for all of us girls, and Finn and the guys will be wearing black shirts and black pants with the same color pink ties."

"Aw, that sounds lovely," she said as she parked the car in an empty space. Quinn couldn't help but be very pleased that the black dress had won, and wondered who else had voted for that costume. It was elegant, simple, and not over-the-top like she was sure Rachel's or Kurt's pick would have been. Also, the black would be the most likely to hide from the audience and judges that she was pregnant, which had been Quinn's main reason for choosing it.

"Will you be able to come to Sectionals to see us perform?" Quinn asked. She opened her door and started to step out onto the asphalt. "I believe it'll be pretty close to winter break, like the eighteenth or nineteenth of December."

"Of course, I wouldn't miss your guys' big day for the world!" Carole said sweetly as she exited out the other side of the car. Quinn was pleased to hear that, yet at the same time she felt some aching in her chest as she thought about how neither of her parents would ever even consider coming to one of her performances. Finn was so lucky. He may only have one parent, but that parent was as close to perfect as anyone could hope for.

After they entered the mall, they immediately headed toward the main department store, and then toward the coats section. Quinn immediately spotted which rack had the ones that were on sale, and started to browse through them.

"Do you know what size you'll need?" Carole asked her, wanting to be helpful. Quinn was holding onto a dark purple pea jacket, but her eyes had strayed from the clothing. Carole followed her gaze, landing on an older woman trying on a winter hat at the other side of the section, and a teenage boy whom she recognized as her son's best friend.

"Oh, I guess you know Puck, right?" she asked Quinn. "Should we go over there and say 'hi'?"

"What?" Quinn had been in a trance-like state. "Oh yeah, I know Puck," she said, catching up. Oh the things Mrs. Hudson didn't know. She looked down at her abdomen for a few moments. "No, we don't have to bother them," she finally replied. She wondered who the old lady was that Puck seemed to be helping. Perhaps his grandmother?

"Alright, hun," Carole said, now sounding a bit distracted. She had already returned to focusing on the coats. "Oh, wouldn't this one look lovely on you?" she added after a moment, pulling out a seafoam green option for Quinn to consider.

* * *

Later, when Carole had become the owner of 3 new pairs of jeans, she grabbed her bag and led Quinn out of the store. "You know I love Finn with all my heart, but whenever I've had to buy him clothing, even when he was really little, a part of me always wished I had a girl to buy things for instead."

"So are you trying to say taking me shopping today is more like a dream come true rather than a hassle?" Quinn replied, keeping the tone light. Her voice was cleverly masking the guilt she couldn't shake for actually _needing_ Carole Hudson to spend her whole afternoon (and quite a bit of money) on her. She was doing all this for a girl who wasn't even _really_ carrying her grandchild, and Quinn hated that this lie about the paternity of the baby was still finding new ways to eat her up inside. Quinn's thoughts met up with reality as the bag she was carrying suddenly struck none other than Noah Puckerman.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Puck shouted as he turned around to face whoever had bumped into him. Puck's back had been to the traffic, since he had been mesmerized by the electronics store, staring through the window.

"I'm sorry, it was an accident!" Quinn replied, her eyes going wide as she realized who exactly had just yelled at her.

"Quinn?" Puck said in surprise.

"Puck," Quinn said quietly in return.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her incredulously, as if this mall wasn't the only one in Lima.

"She's here with me," Carole chimed in cheerfully.

"Mrs. H?" Puck asked with even more incredulity in his voice. He seemed very confused. He looked back and forth between Carole and Quinn, trying to put the pieces together.

"The better question is, what are you doing just standing outside of a store in the way of anyone walking by?" Quinn retorted.

"My nana said she'd just be a second and to wait right here," Puck answered simply.

"Your 'nana'?" Quinn replied with a giggle.

"Shut up," he defended himself harshly. "You still haven't told me what you're doing here with Finn's mom anyway," he replied, looking down at the bags the two women were carrying.

Carole started to answer him. "Oh we were just here to-"

"-buy some clothes, obviously," Quinn said, finishing Carole's sentence. She didn't want to risk Mrs. Hudson mentioning the fact that they were headed toward the maternity clothing store at that moment. She didn't want to remind Puck of the fact that he had impregnated her because- well, things could get really uncomfortable, really fast.

"Okay," Puck replied, still seeming weirded out by the idea of his friend's mom taking his same friend's girlfriend shopping. Quinn didn't see what was so strange about it. The boy wasn't exactly one to talk, going shopping with his _nana_.

"We should get back to that now. Right, Mrs. Hudson?" Quinn said, turning to Carole and directing the question at her.

"Yeah, I suppose we should," she replied. Quinn began to walk away. "It was nice running into you, Noah," Carole said to the boy before following after her.


	15. Babysitting

After a unique glee club rehearsal that involved Mr. Schue deciding on them singing "Hair" and the boys all wearing silly wigs, the bell rang and everyone headed out of the classroom. Quinn took her new sea foam green pea coat out of her locker and pulled it on quickly, thinking about how it was likely to hide her bigger-than-ever baby bump from the eyes of at least a couple students in the hallway who hadn't yet noticed her that day. Now that she was wearing maternity clothing, she was physically comfortable during the school day (or at least, as comfortable as a pregnant girl could be), but she still felt the psychological discomfort of wide-eyed stares and ruthless whispers. She wished being pregnant didn't mean that the entire world could easily know such personal details about your life.

School was over for the day, and football season had ended the previous week, but Quinn had been required to come up with an excuse in order to not accompany Finn home. Earlier in the school day, Quinn's phone had lit up with a new text message from Terri Schuester, saying simply:

_We need to talk. I'll be in car. Sheets n things parking lot today. 3:30_

Quinn didn't know what this would be about, but she hoped Terri still wanted to adopt her baby, and therefore the girl figured she really had no choice in the matter. So she told Finn that Santana had invited her over to hang out, and pretended that's where she was heading despite really planning on going to the linen store. Since Finn had driven them to school together that morning in his car, Finn gave Quinn his keys and said he'd just get a ride home from Puck and it'd be fine. Quinn thanked him, still not used to the idea of Finn and Puck hanging out together and somehow Puck being awesome enough to keep their huge secret. She was, of course, immensely grateful for it though, and hoped Puck could keep up the lies as well as she had been able to.

She shivered and pulled her coat a bit tighter as she stepped out into the chilly November air. Thinking about her lie made her feel a little sad. Santana never really had asked Quinn over to her house before, not even when they were fairly close friends in the Cheerios together. Quinn wasn't sure Santana really felt very comfortable around her anymore, now that she was pregnant and Santana had been appointed by Coach Sylvester to take Quinn's spot on the team. Everything was a bit awkward now, and they just didn't find themselves talking much at all.

When Quinn arrived at Sheets N' Things, she stepped out of Finn's car and looked around, realizing she didn't even know what Terri Schuester's vehicle looked like. Just then, a slightly chubby woman with a scrunchie sloppily clumping her hair onto just one side of her head stepped out of a car and yelled loudly across the parking lot, "Quinn!"

The girl had no clue who this woman was, but upon hearing her name called she headed toward her cautiously. Slowly and with a mild amount of trepidation, she asked, "Yes?"

"Aw, gosh. You _are_ a gorgeous set of genes. That Terri-bear was so right. Cutie-pie, could you please come join us in the car now?"

A very confused Quinn remained standing still, trying to piece together who this woman was. She spoke with a southern accent of some kind, Quinn was pretty sure.

"I should have introduced myself, right? I'm so sorry, hun. I'm Kendra and I'm looking forward to being that baby's aunt!" She raised her eyebrows meaningfully, directed her gaze toward Quinn's abdomen, and smiled hugely. "Now please come on, we don't have all day!" Kendra gestured with her hand from Quinn toward the blue minivan she'd stepped out of a minute ago.

Once Quinn was situated between Terri Schuester and her sister in the backseat of the car, feeling uncomfortably cramped, Terri started to explain the reason she had called this meeting.

"I stumbled across a magazine article yesterday," Terri started off. "And it made me realize that you might be destroying my baby's future without even realizing it." Quinn raised one of her eyebrows skeptically.

"And she asked me to stop by and add in my two cents," Kendra chimed in, "because I've been pregnant before. Triplet boys actually." She looked off into space, seemingly recalling the experience, and then shuddered. "You're _so_ lucky to only be carrying one sucker."

"You don't drink diet soda, do you?" Terri suddenly asked, with all of the seriousness in the world. "Because the phosphoric acid causes male pattern baldness."

"The baby's a girl," Quinn replied simply, not sure of how else to respond. Male pattern baldness wouldn't be a problem for a girl. Wasn't that obvious?

"Women go bald too..." Mrs. Schuester said, faltering at the end of the attempt to justify her concern over this issue.

"You worry too much, Terri," Kendra interjected. "Mom smoked and drank a bottle of Riunite on ice every night when she was pregnant with us, and we're _totally_ normal." Quinn looked back and forth between the sisters incredulously. Clearly neither one was even close to the definition of _normal_. "Just take your vitamins, stay out of the hot tub, and avoid _rum_ -based drinks, and you'll be fine!"

* * *

Walking through the front door of the Hudson house less than an hour later, she gently played with the little slip of paper in her coat pocket. Kendra handed it to her right before the three of them had parted ways. The paper had Kendra's phone number scribbled on it - in case Quinn had an emergency of some kind and wanted to contact her. Quinn immediately moved her fingers away from the paper and out of her pocket completely as soon as she was greeted by Carole, though.

"Finn's in the dining room doing his homework, if you'd like to join him," she told the girl, who looked up and gave her a small smile in response.

"Sure," Quinn replied. She took off her coat and started hanging it up in the closet by the door.

"Oh, and I hope you had fun at your friend's house!" Carole added.

"Thanks. Yeah, I did," she fibbed. She really was getting tired of all of the lying.

She sat down at the other end of the dining room table and pulled a textbook out of her bag. Before she reached back down to get the rest of what she needed to start on her Social Studies homework, she looked over at Finn, who had barely glanced at her when she entered the room. She thought about how horribly distant she had felt from her boyfriend as of recent.

Later in the evening, the three of them all ate dinner together and again Quinn felt like Finn didn't even bother to look at or say one word to her. He interacted with his mom a bit but not her. It was like he was tired of being Quinn Fabray's boyfriend or something, and the idea of that depressed Quinn so much.

After dinner, Finn, Carole, and Quinn all sat down on the couch to watch a little television, and while Finn did sit next to Quinn, he didn't snuggle up next to her or wrap his arm around her. He didn't feel like her boyfriend anymore, but more like some guy who was just around her a lot. She tried to enjoy the TV show but her mind kept drifting elsewhere.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to make Finn think her baby was his. She knew it never had been fair to him... and back when she'd decided to lie to him, she had thought she would need someone to help her raise the baby. But now that Mr. Schue and his wife were going to be taking her baby, she didn't need to lie to him anymore, did she? Sure, Terri and her sister were both psycho, and the thought of her daughter going off to become a member of their family terrified her in a lot of ways... but at least Terri was concerned about what would be best for the baby. It was caring of her, in her own unique way, to want to make sure Quinn didn't drink something that would make the baby go bald. And, Quinn kept reminding herself, Mr. Schue would be an amazing dad.

So if she and Finn weren't going to be raising the baby themselves, maybe it would only make sense to come clean to him about everything. She seriously thought about it. She did. She knew that if she told him the truth, he'd break up with her. She just knew it. But maybe that's what he wanted to do anyway – maybe the only reason he wasn't breaking up with her was the "fact" that he'd gotten her pregnant.

When Quinn got into bed that night, she squirmed beneath her covers, her thoughts about her relationship with Finn keeping her up for quite a while.

* * *

Puck came up to Quinn in the school hallway the next morning, before classes started. They were both heading toward the glee classroom, because the club would be meeting during the first period of the day.

"Hey. I have somethin' for ya," he told her, pulling his gift out from behind his back where he had been hiding it. He handed it to her as they continued walking.

"Really? You got me... a book?" She was definitely surprised. "This is a bit unexpected." She looked down at the title: _How to Raise A Baby On Five Dollars A Day._

"Saw it in the bookstore. Figured I'd steal it for ya," he explained. Quinn couldn't help but smile. Of course he didn't actually pay for his gift for her, but rather committed a crime in order to obtain it. "You know, in case you change your mind, and decide you want to keep it." He looked into her eyes and she couldn't help but appreciate the sentiment so much.

"That is so sweet," she responded sincerely. "To be honest, I really don't know what I'm gonna do about it anymore. My mind's pretty messed up about everything." And it was – about the lie that Finn was the father, about the idea of letting the crazy Terri Schuester adopt her baby, especially now that she'd met her even scarier sister... Quinn didn't feel sure about much of anything anymore. Puck stepped out in front of her and they both stopped walking.

"Well, whatever you decide." He paused and looked at her with understanding eyes and a hint of a smile. "No pressure."

Quinn silently replied with a few small nods and looked after him as he walked away, leaving her to stand there and think for a moment about what had just happened. Puck, who could be the biggest jerk on the planet sometimes, was going to be okay with whatever she decided when it came to his baby. The boy could really surprise her sometimes, that was for sure. She felt so grateful that he was being nice right then, after all of the craziness with her parents kicking her out, her sister still not calling her back, Kendra pulling her into a minivan, and Finn practically ignoring her despite the fact that they now lived in the same house. So many people in her life made her feel pressured to be perfect, or at least pressured to do certain things better than she already was. She felt like she needed to try harder to be the perfect incubator if Terri was going to be adopting, and she also felt like maybe she needed to try harder to be a more lovable girlfriend in Finn's eyes. However, Puck was simply accepting whatever she did or didn't do. And that felt so nice for a change.

Before Will showed up for glee that morning, Quinn sat and watched the rest of the club laugh and talk. She felt detached from all of them, and overwhelmed by her pregnancy and everything else going on in her life right now. _Maybe the problem isn't that I don't want to keep the baby,_ Quinn realized. _The problem is that I don't want to keep the baby with Finn._ She kept thinking, _Maybe I didn't give Puck enough of a chance. He is the real dad after all. Finn would freak if I started spending time with Puck though. I need to distract him, so that I can take Puck for a test drive. But how?_

Quinn noticed Rachel and realized that the girl could work as a good distraction for Finn. She looked a bit too much like a five-year-old as it was now though, but maybe with some make-up, Rachel could be just what Quinn needed to keep Finn out of her way while she did something with Puck.

After glee rehearsal that day, Quinn caught up to Kurt in the hallway. She knew Kurt had enough fashion sense to help with Rachel, even if what he himself wore was usually as outlandish as anyone could dream up. And Kurt did agree to help, a bit begrudgingly, after Quinn convinced him that the reason was so that they could win at sectionals.

* * *

During last period, which was English that day, Quinn couldn't really concentrate. She was thinking too much about the possibility that she might now actually decide to keep her baby and raise it herself. She realized the fact that she was seriously considering this meant that maybe Terri Schuester would need a different baby to adopt, and Quinn wanted to be fair to the woman, who was after all _really_ counting on being able to adopt a child at the approximate time when Quinn would be giving birth. Quinn wanted to be fair to the Schuester family, so she asked her teacher permission to leave and head to the restroom.

Rather than walking toward the ladies room though, Quinn found herself back in her locker, feeling into her pocket for Kendra's phone number. She felt this qualified as an emergency, right? She looked around the completely deserted hallway and figured this would be the most private place she could find to make this phone call.

Kendra told Quinn they needed to meet in person immediately. Quinn told her she couldn't just steal Finn's ride home two days in a row, so Kendra came up with a solution. Finn drove home alone that day, confused by Quinn's vague insistence that he leave her at school, but he went along with it after she promised him she'd be fine and she'd get a ride from someone.

Quinn waited for quite a while for Kendra to arrive for their face to face meeting, luckily able to stay inside to avoid the cold and just look out through a glass door to see when the blue minivan was pulling up into the school driveway.

* * *

After the young pregnant girl had gotten into the passenger seat, Mr. Schue's sister-in-law drove like a madwoman, and a small part of Quinn feared for her baby's life as well as her own. Generally, however, Kendra seemed fairly in control of where the car went – she was merely excessively aggressive as a driver, and seemed to think of speeding as a rule rather than a violation of traffic laws. When they arrived in a parking garage beneath an apartment building, Quinn wasn't even sure exactly where they were headed, but she assumed perhaps Kendra's place. However, when she was dragged out of the car and saw Terri and Will having some kind of conversation, she realized where they must be – the Schuesters' place.

Kendra had her own key to the place, apparently, and Quinn wondered if it'd really be such a good idea to be in Mr. Schue's apartment, when he was supposed to have no idea that his wife was faking a pregnancy and planning on adopting the teenager's child. Still, she went along with Kendra and followed her inside. Both of them then waited on the couch for the woman who appeared to wear pregnancy pads 24/7.

"How can you bring her here? What if he saw her?" Terri asked, once she had sent Will off on an errand and returned to the apartment.

"You're gonna want to hear _this_ ," Kendra replied. "I gave Little Miss Peroxide my phone number in case of an emergency, and she called to drop the _bomb_ on me."

"What? What bomb?" They both turned to look at Quinn. "What is it?" Terri asked her.

Quinn took a deep breath. "I'm keeping my baby." Mrs. Schuester looked stunned. Quinn was a bit stunned herself, but she didn't show it. She had called Kendra expecting to only say that she was considering maybe keeping her baby. But now, here she was, feeling fairly confident that... one way or another, perhaps with Puck, perhaps in some new way that she hadn't thought of yet, she wanted to keep her baby. She didn't want to keep the baby with Finn, that was still true... but she wanted to keep her.

* * *

Terri did the driving when they delivered Quinn safely and soundly back to the Hudson household, but both Kendra and Terri didn't say anything for much of the car ride. Kendra seemed angry with Quinn for changing her mind, but Terri seemed simply scared and disappointed.

Quinn made sure to read the assigned chapters for English carefully as she was doing her homework that evening, since in class that day she had been zoning out about keeping her baby and ditching to make "emergency" phone calls. She figured as long as she understood the book really well on her own, she'd get just as good a grade on her test.

During dinner that night, Carole made an announcement.

"Quinn, honey? You know... Thanksgiving is coming up next week. So... um... I figure you'll want to join Finn and me on our annual trip to my mother's house in Pickerington?"

Quinn swallowed down a bite of her food. "Pickerington?" She'd never heard of the place.

"It's like a suburb of Columbus, about 2 hours from here."

"Oh," Quinn replied.

"I mean," Carole clarified, "that's 2 hours if you don't drive during the craziest of the Thanksgiving rush hour traffic of course."

Quinn considered not spending the holiday with her various extended family members for the first time in her entire life, and the thought made her bitter as hell.

"Sure, I'd love to come." _Of course,_ she thought to herself, _where else would I go?_ "Thanks for inviting me."

"Grandma makes really delicious Thanksgiving dinners," Finn decided to mention. "It'll probably be nice to have someone my age there," he added.

Quinn couldn't help but notice the "probably", but tried to resist scowling at him or worse yet, actually bringing up how it made her feel, since his mom was right there at the table.

"Yeah," Carole elaborated, "usually my sister and her husband come, and they have a ten-year-old girl, and a six-year-old boy. So it's usually just the seven of us at the house, but with you it should be eight this year."

"Cool," Quinn responded. She was certainly not sure if the holiday gathering the following week would be enjoyable or rather simply awkward, but she figured if the members of Carole's family were half as nice as Carole herself was, it couldn't be that bad. She finished up her dinner, then returned to working on her homework.

Right as Quinn was about to get ready for bed that night, she received a call on her cell phone from Kendra, which she answered, closing the door to her bedroom for as much privacy as possible.

"Hello?" Quinn answered quietly, but with a tone of confusion clear in her voice. What would Kendra be calling her about? Hadn't she been clear before when she had said she wanted to keep her baby? There was nothing else to be said.

"Hi, sweetie," Kendra replied, her voice sounding almost condescending, but Quinn wasn't sure. She may have just been feeling extra sensitive at that moment. "I wanted to ask you for a favor."

"A favor."

"Yes. Could you possibly babysit my three boys Friday night?"

"Oh," Quinn replied, surprised by the request.

"Pleeease?" Kendra begged. "It would be so freaking helpful to me, since my last babysitter quit, and it'd be good experience for what parenting is like too!"

"Um..." Quinn faltered, realizing that maybe Kendra had a point. This would be good experience to see if she could handle parenting... and if she could get Puck to join her, it would be a great way for her to see what he was like around kids. "Sure, I'll do it. Friday night, you said?"

"Yeah!" Kendra sounded _so_ excited that Quinn had accepted. "If you could come by around maybe seven, that'd be _perfect_."

* * *

At school the next day, Kurt had successfully transformed Rachel into something distracting, for she was wearing a ridiculous sexy black dress that was nothing like Quinn had ever expected to see Rachel wear in a million years. Quinn watched her interact with her boyfriend very briefly, and then walk away, Finn pretty much gaping and staring at her the entire time. After the exchange, Finn yelled over to Quinn and asked her for permission to "maybe do something" on Friday night. Quinn said it was fine, informed him of her babysitting plans at the same time, and then, after her boyfriend was heading away, she caught sight of Puck.

"Hey! What are you doing on Friday?" she asked him.

"Just the usual," he replied, shrugging. "I was gonna stand outside the 7-Eleven looking depressed until someone offered to buy me beer, but... what's going on?"

"You wanna maybe babysit with me?" Quinn heard her voice get a little lighter and higher in pitch. She felt like such a girl right then, and Puck just stared back at her and smiled, considering the invitation. The bell rang but they both just stood there, frozen for a moment staring into each other's eyes, both so unsure of what this experiment in babysitting, together, would mean for them and for their child.

"Yes," he finally replied. "I'd love to."

"Great!" She smiled at him warmly, then skipped off to class.

Later that day in glee club, the guys were just barely beginning to learn how to shake their "hair" (the wigs Mr. Schue had provided for all of them) in a fun way when an intense fight in the hallway between their instructor and Coach Sylvester interrupted them.

Quinn wasn't sure what she felt toward her former coach. She had publicly outed her pregnancy to the entire school, then kicked her off the cheerleading squad. It reminded her a lot of her parents kicking her out of their house in some way. She hated all three of those adults so much for doing that to her, but she still loved her parents and just wanted their forgiveness more than anything. She missed that time when she was their beloved little girl. She'd give anything to be accepted back into their home. And the same was kind of true of Sue Sylvester – while yes, Quinn sort of hated the woman's guts, and wanted to just throw darts at a picture of the miserable bitch's face... there was also a part of her that just missed being on the Cheerios so much, and missed that time when Ms. Sylvester would call Quinn that pet nickname "Q", would tell her how she reminded her of a young Sue Sylvester, and trusted her to be her head cheerleader. She would jump at the chance to be appreciated by Sue again, regardless of everything.

* * *

Kendra wasn't like your typical over protective mother who freaked out when finding out your hired babysitter had brought along a date, or who triple checked to make sure the person responsible for her children knew where to find the phone number for poison control. She didn't ask if Quinn was CPR certified or competent in giving the Heimlich Maneuver. In fact, as soon as Quinn walked through the front door of Kendra's apartment, before Puck had even managed to step in after her, Kendra and her husband Phil, whom Quinn had never met before, left the apartment in a near sprint, Phil being forcefully dragged out the door by his wife.

"Hi. Nice to meet you, Quinn," he managed to say quietly before disappearing, Kendra not even allowing him enough time for a response.

"Dude," Puck commented once they were gone. "That guy clearly has no balls." Quinn giggled.

"I guess we should, um, _find_ the boys?" she said, glancing around the apartment. Suddenly she saw a toy car racing towards her feet, though, and she jumped off to the side, out of the way. She figured it must be remote controlled... and looked around.

"Hello? Anyone here?" she asked, feigning ignorance of their obvious existence in the apartment. Puck wandered off into the first room to the right.

"Found them!" he called out. "Now what are your names?"

Speaking in complete unison, the triplets answered, "Kyle." "Max." "Joshua."

Quinn giggled a bit as she entered the room. "Do you mind repeating those, but one person at a time?" she asked sweetly. The boys ignored her and all three started to run right past her, out of the room. She actually felt wind that was created by the force of their wild natures.

"Wow." Puck said. There was not much more to say. Quinn gave him a look of agreement, but then started brainstorming.

"Hmm..." Quinn muttered to herself.

"Hey, I know!" Puck shouted out. "You guys want to play a game?!" He leaned over toward Quinn and quietly added, "I have a little sister. I know things."

The boys came running back, intrigued.

"What kind of game?" One of them asked, and then he and his two brothers looked intently at Puck for the answer.

"Well, 'Hide and Seek' always is fun," he suggested, and Quinn appreciated the quiet nature of that game as an idea. "Quinn and I could both split up to try to find all three of you, and whichever one of you takes the longest to find is the winner!"

Unfortunately, the boys were already all shaking their little red-haired heads in unison as a vehement "no".

"How about," a different triplet started to suggest, "we play Cowboys and Indians!"

"Yeah!" the other two cheered in agreement!

"What do you want to be, the cowboys or the Indians?" the one who hadn't spoken yet asked their babysitters.

"Cowboys," Quinn replied without too much thought. She smiled to herself, remembering being dressed as a cowgirl, dancing around Puck back at their invitationals, singing that Carrie Underwood song.

"Hey, no way, cowboys are totally gay!" Puck objected. "No way I'm gonna play some Brokeback Mountain role. Indians all the way for me. Wait are we talking about the country in Africa? Or Native Americans?"

"Puck. _I'd_ be the other cowboy." Quinn stared at him incredulously. Couldn't he see the irony of that "gay" remark? She chuckled to herself. "And um... Africa?" She rolled her eyes and wondered if he'd ever looked at a globe in his entire life.

The triplets all looked at each other, then turned back to Puck and Quinn. "You're gonna be the Indians," they said in unison. Then one of them ran off into the other room, shouting, "I'm getting the rope!". The other two immediately went straight to their toy guns, which were stashed under the couch, and pulled them on the Indians. "Don't even think about moving a muscle," they said, making their young voices as low as they could go. Quinn and Puck froze, playing along. But then Puck's pocket lit up, and he reached down to grab his phone.

"Puck!" Quinn whisper-shouted. "You're not supposed to move _a muscle_."

"But I got a new text," he explained, stating the obvious. He started to reply and the two boys both were aiming their guns at him now and pretending to shoot.

"I've got the rope!" the third brother cried out, as he re-entered the room. He was carrying a long jump rope, and Quinn only then realized what was about to happen, as all three boys closed in on them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So obviously you just read chapter 15. It was based on most of episode 1x11 "Hairography"- the rest of the Quinn stuff from the episode will be included in the next chapter. And of course some made up stuff is added into every chapter, but some chapters have more of that made up stuff than others.
> 
> It took me over a month between updates again... But on the plus side it is a bit of a longer chapter.
> 
> I know I have (at least) one little goof in this chapter, relating to what actually happened on the show vs. what I wrote. But I don't want to tell you want it is. :P Hopefully it's not too big of a deal and most of you won't even notice. 
> 
> Oh and I'm sorry if you think this chapter was too pro-Puck/Quinn and anti-Finn/Quinn. Ultimately I love both ships in a lot of ways and I'm just trying to stay true to the show. Next chapter will have some great Finn/Quinn stuff, I swear. :P But I think ultimately this fic will be more pro-Puck/Quinn in the end, because 1x22 felt like a Puck/Quinn episode to me, and 1x22 will be the end of the fic.
> 
> Last but NEVER least...
> 
> Thank you again to those of you who take the time to leave me a review! It makes the writing feel worthwhile.


	16. "Can we be in love again?"

After singing "Papa Don't Preach" three whole times in a row as well as jumping around, spinning, and dancing to it while Puck strummed his guitar, one might think that Quinn would be exhausted and annoyed. Rather, she felt exhilarated and happy. Plus, the way Puck was looking at her... she found herself feeling more beautiful than she'd felt in months. He'd heard the message in the song she'd chosen, and he seemed very pleased with what appeared to be her decision to keep the baby. Quinn was immensely glad to have his unspoken, but clearly implied support.

Following the third performance, she noticed the time on the clock and realized it was probably approaching the boys' bedtime. She'd also noticed earlier what she had been pretty sure was strawberry jelly in the boys' hair. Plus, immediately prior to her thinking of a "live music video" as a good entertainment option for the boys, one of them had managed to get his face covered in cream pie! So she came to the obvious conclusion that they needed to bathe before getting their sheets and pillows all sticky.

Puck kept two of the boys occupied with his guitar, allowing them to dance and sing, which they seemed to now want to do, while he vigorously played some chords. He did seem surprisingly good with the boys, and Quinn smiled to herself as she left the room with the third child. She asked him to help her find the dresser drawer containing his pajamas, then got out something for him to wear after he was clean. She grabbed him a towel and washcloth from the linen closet as well. Once she had handed these items to the boy, she allowed him his privacy as he insisted he was a big boy and knew how to take a bath by himself. She reminded him to use soap and especially shampoo and make sure he got all of the strawberry jelly out of his hair, and then left him alone inside the bathroom with the door closed. She carefully listened from outside, pressing her ear up to the door, fearing he might do something unfortunate such as start splashing water everywhere and make a huge mess. She also figured it was her duty as babysitter to ensure his safety and while she doubted there would be a problem, she knew it was her responsibility to make sure nothing went wrong. He, however, successfully bathed and dressed himself without any incident, and Quinn was very pleased when he emerged from the bathroom, dirt free and ready for sleep.

The clean boy, now in nightwear, replaced one of his brothers in the musical act that Puck was accompanying on guitar, while Quinn took a second boy off to get bathed. They repeated the process with the third boy as well. When all of the boys had finished taking their baths, Puck let them all sing and dance together as a group of three for once. He wanted to allow them a finale performance before he packed up his guitar for the night. Quinn sat on the couch and watched them, gently resting her hands on her baby bump and wondering if her daughter might one day enjoy the idea of singing and dancing with her father, Puck, playing guitar just like this.

Puck let Quinn be in charge of tucking them in. He hung back by the doorway while Quinn wished them goodnight. One of them asked Quinn to hand him his bear, so she found the stuffed animal on the floor next to the bed and gave it to him. All three of the boys seemed thoroughly worn out from all of the dancing and fell asleep within only a couple of minutes.

As if on cue, as soon as the boys were out, Kendra returned home, this time with Terri accompanying her. The sisters' jaws dropped in awe at how the boys were actually sleeping and smelling of soap, clearly very impressed by the babysitting. Kendra even called Quinn an exorcist, and Quinn took it as a high compliment.

As she and Puck left the apartment, they discussed how well it went. Quinn brought up how all of his texting to Mike made her worried at first, and Puck commented on how they had just successfully proved that parenting was something they would be able to handle. Quinn smiled in agreement; he was right. She could, if she wanted, choose to raise this baby and she would probably even enjoy it. To her surprise, this night of taking care of children with had been fairly wonderful, in its own way. She had been a natural at it, and Puck seemed to have been too. He also seemed to be more than just willing to help babysit with her this one time – in fact, he practically seemed eager to be a dad to his own daughter.

* * *

The next couple of days were an uneventful weekend for Quinn. She and Finn watched a bit of television, Quinn got some homework for the following week done early, and at one point Mrs. Hudson asked for help in the kitchen preparing a pasta dish that involved a few ingredients that needed to be chopped up. Quinn still felt distant from Finn and realized at one point that it had been a long time since they'd even chastely kissed one another, let alone had a real make-out session. She kind of missed that aspect of her relationship with Finn. They'd once really enjoyed kissing passionately for long stretches of time.

Sunday night, after he had finished getting ready for bed and while she was still in the process of doing the same, she found herself stopping in the hallway and staring at Finn in his boxers. He was in his bedroom, setting his alarm clock, oblivious to what his girlfriend was doing. She wondered if she should just set him free and tell him the truth about the baby not being his. As a less extreme option, she wondered if she should tell him that she was changing her mind and that she probably wanted to keep the baby at this point. Her thoughts moved on to some "what if" scenarios, including simply breaking up with Finn without giving him any explanation. She imagined at some point in the future being separated from Finn, and tried to gauge how much she would miss him. She was in the midst of these thoughts when he turned around and saw her in the hallway. She instantly found herself pretending to be looking anywhere but at him, and then quickly started walking back toward the bathroom, as if she had been headed there all along. Finn didn't call out to her, nor did he leave his bedroom, so Quinn figured her tactics to fool him had worked.

* * *

At school on Monday, she was minding her own business and simply getting some books out of her locker when suddenly Santana slammed Quinn's locker shut harshly.

"Keep your paws _off_ my man," she emphatically commanded. "Clear?" She started to walk away. Quinn gaped after her for a couple of seconds before letting out a half-chuckle in disbelief and then turning herself to face toward the departing Cheerio.

"Who's your man?" she responded.

"Don't play stupid, Tubbers," Santana simply said, thinking it unnecessary to answer the question. Quinn was honestly unsure of who Santana was accusing her of getting "her paws" on, though. She hadn't even been touching Finn much lately, who everyone knew was Quinn's own boyfriend and belonged to no one else. "Oh and for the record," Santana continued, "asking someone to babysit with you is super 90's." The fierce condescension was dripping from every single syllable.

"I happen to know that Puck cares about me," Quinn replied, realizing now who Santana's man must be, but not willing to just let her claim him all for herself. Everything that had happened between her and Puck recently - from him stealing the book for her, to his comment about how they had proved that they could be parents after their successful night of babysitting – made Quinn sure of at least that.

"Well wake up," Santana retorted. "While you two were babysitting, Puck and I were sexting."

"Sexting?"

"Sexy texting. Seriously, what era are you from?" Santana couldn't be more jarring with her delivery of this news if she tried. "While you two were playing house, Puck and I were trading super hot texts. Why don't you check his cell phone? 'Cause my sexts are too hot to erase."

Quinn couldn't believe what Santana was saying. Santana looked the blond up and down and then walked away, leaving the pregnant girl just standing there. It rang too true... Puck had been texting quite a bit during their babysitting session. He'd claimed he had been texting Mike that whole time, but since when was he all that close of friends with Mike anyway? Quinn felt a really unsettling mixture of anger and heartbreaking disappointment as she let herself accept that most likely what Santana said was true.

The bell rang and glee club rehearsal was the next class, where she'd have to be in a room with both Santana and Puck. She tried to push all thoughts of Puck and Santana exchanging sexts out of her mind until after glee was over.

When she entered the choir room, the glee club from the school for the deaf were already there, awaiting a performance of "Hair" which Mr. Schue had promised them. Quinn found herself enjoying dancing with the crazy "hairography", shaking her head a ton, and singing the song from the 1960's musical. It fully distracted her from the events in the hallway just a few minutes prior.

When it was the deaf students' turn to perform for McKinley, they started their rendition of another song from around that same time period. "Imagine", of course, was a song Quinn knew well, and it warmed her heart a ton to see it performed in American Sign Language. When the New Directions started standing up to join them, Quinn couldn't resist the urge to gently take Finn's hand and lead the way. She was almost surprised when he didn't pull away.

When school was over that day, Quinn decided she needed to know once and for all if Puck really had sexts saved on his phone from Friday night, just like Santana said there'd be. After her last class, she quickly stopped by her locker, and once she was finished there she walked over toward Puck quickly. He was, of course, flirting with some girl over by his own locker. He was always flirting with girls, and Quinn berated herself mentally for ever forgetting that.

She walked right between Puck and that girl without even so much as an "excuse me" and then grabbed a hold of his phone. She found the button she had to hit to get to his inbox.

"Hey, babe," Puck commented, clearly noticing she was upset. Quinn started scrolling down through his texts, and Puck noticed this. "Um... you really don't want to do that."

Quinn paused on a text Puck had sent, time stamped Friday, that said "Tell me about your panties." There were other gems nearby as well, such as Santana's response immediately after: "Not wearing any." She looked up from the phone with a scowl on her face.

"You lied to me," she said, stating the obvious. She held up the phone, still on Puck's text message inbox, as proof. He grabbed the phone away from her.

"I'm sorry," he replied, placing the phone back down where it had been in his locker. "I tried to resist Santana, I did," he justified. "But I'm young, and girls have this... power over me." Quinn couldn't believe how lame his excuse was. "But hey, it's all good."

"It is definitely not all good," she replied angrily, holding back tears. "I thought you wanted to be with me!"

"I do! Like a lot!" he responded, and he seemed sincere. Quinn hated hearing this from him right now. It was just making everything worse. "But you haven't given it up to me since the night I knocked you up. Baby, I'm a dude. I have needs."

"So you expect to raise a baby with me and text dirty messages to every other girl at this school if I don't 'give it up to you' every day?" she asked incredulously.

"No! Just the hot girls." Quinn really couldn't believe Puck in this moment. "Look, I'm gonna be a good dad. But I'm not gonna stop being me to do it."

Quinn pursed her lips and nodded. She was trying to hold it all together, but Puck was breaking her heart right now. She didn't realize she would feel this strongly, that it was even possible to feel this "cheated on" by someone whom she wasn't even with... but she did. Emotions don't lie and right now all she could feel was betrayal. Without another word, she turned away from him and started walking. She walked past the Spanish classroom and noticed Mr. Schue still there... it looked like he was grading homework assignments or something.

Before her mind even caught up to her feet, she was headed toward the car she had driven in to school that morning, and in what seemed like no time, she ended up at the Schuesters' apartment. She knocked on the door. Luckily, Terri was home and she answered it.

"Quinn!" she exclaimed with a tone of surprise. "Um... you're lucky, Will isn't here right now. He told me he was going to be busy working on finding parts for his new car until supper, so it's fine that you showed up here. But um... what... what are you doing here?"

Quinn let herself into the apartment, not waiting for an invitation. She didn't bother to explain to Terri that she knew Will wasn't here, because she had noticed him busy with school paper stuff in his classroom right when she'd left the school, so there was zero chance of him beating her there. She was actually a bit relieved, though, to hear that he wasn't coming home anytime soon. She was sort of in a daze, staring off at some indistinct point ahead of her as she walked past Terri and sat down on the couch in the living room.

"Quinn?" Terri asked again, still wondering what the girl had come by for. The last time they had seen each other, Quinn had still been sure that she was keeping her baby because babysitting Kendra's kids had gone so well. It was clear from Terri's tone that she had never expected to see the girl ever again. She sat down on the couch next to Quinn and looked into her eyes. This caused Quinn to finally speak.

"You can have her."

"Are you serious?" Terri asked in awe. She seemed almost afraid to be too hopeful again, after Quinn had already withdrawn her offer to give her daughter to the Schuesters once.

"A girl really needs a good father," Quinn started to explain, thinking both about her own dad who had recently broken her heart more than she ever would have thought possible when he disowned her, as well as how Puck would most likely behave if he had a part in raising their baby girl. "And the only way she's gonna get that is if I give her to you." Terri allowed herself to smile a little. Quinn continued, her voice breaking a bit, "You think Mr. Schue's gonna be a good father, don't you?" This was really painful for Quinn, after thinking for a few wonderful days that she would be able to keep her little girl and raise her with Puck and be a happy family unit of three... now she was accepting, for real, that the baby would be better off with actual adults raising it. Especially Mr. Schuester. He would be such a perfect parent, and she knew it. But it still hurt; it still felt like she was losing something really valuable by giving away her chance to be a parent to this child. Terri considered Quinn's question for a moment and looked off to the side, seemingly imagining Will with the baby.

"Yeah," she answered softly with a smile. "I think he's gonna be an amazing dad."

Quinn nodded and smiled back, feeling reassured. She knew she was making the right decision now. Giving up the baby for Terri to adopt would be the best thing even for Mr. Schue, who probably wanted to be a parent much more than Quinn did at this point in her life.

Just then, she heard a door close and footsteps of someone entering the apartment. Terri looked over behind Quinn and saw her husband.

"Will?" Terri said in alarm. Quinn turned around to see him, and wondered if Terri was going to get them out of this one with some excuse, or if rather Quinn would be forced to think of something.

"Hey, guys," he responded jovially.

"I thought you were gonna be at the scrapyard all afternoon," Terri replied.

"Oh, yeah, uh," Will replied, seemingly having forgotten his own plans. "Change of plans; got distracted with something else. Uh... Quinn?" He seemed surprised to see her on his couch. "What are you doing here?" He didn't seem upset, but his voice almost conveyed... concern. Perhaps he thought maybe she had come by to see him, for some important issue in her life. She _was_ the pregnant teenager with no home at the moment, and Mr. Schue was not oblivious to the soap opera that had become Quinn's life.

"Oh, girl-talk," Terri covered quickly before Quinn had a chance to answer. She nodded a little too enthusiastically about it, clearly trying extremely hard to sell her story. "We're exchanging pregnancy war stories." She looked into Quinn's eyes and giggled a little. Quinn smiled back at her, appreciating her ability to make up a lie like that on the spot. Quinn realized she and Terri had a lot more in common than she might care to admit – they both had become quite adept at lying to the men they loved.

"Oh, that's... nice," Will replied. He let out a slight chuckle too. "Well, when you get a sec," he added, directing his gaze toward his wife, "could you meet me out in the garage, Ter?" He started to walk away as to give the girls their privacy.

"Oh, I was just leaving," Quinn said, standing up from the couch. "So..." she trailed off, shooting a smile at Terri and then turning away from her on her way toward the door. She hesitated in front of Mr. Schue though, and looked back toward Terri, thinking about what they had, just a few moments prior, established on the couch. The Schuesters were going to raise her baby. Mr. Schue was going to be an amazing dad. Terri made a face as if she was getting worried that Quinn was going to give everything away to him, and Quinn looked back at her oblivious teacher, just allowing herself a moment to take in all of his wonderfulness.

"Yes?" Mr. Schue asked her, when she'd been staring at him for too long.

She faltered, unsure of what to say. She wanted to say, "Thank you _so much_. You're going to be the best dad my baby could ever have. I kind of love you right now." But she couldn't. That would give away everything. She couldn't think of anything that would be appropriate without giving away too much and ruining Terri's whole plan. And she didn't want to jeopardize it either. "Um," she breathed, starting to maybe say something, but then she decided that rather than say anything at all, she just would lean into the man for a hug.

She wrapped her arms around him gently - just tightly enough for it to still count as a real hug, and let her head rest on his chest and shoulder, hoping all of the things she wanted to say to him would be conveyed through the wordless gesture. She hoped he could just feel her gratitude this way. He seemed a little surprised by the hug and it took him a few moments before he reciprocated it, but he did, wrapping his arms around her. She felt his strong hands gently touch her back and then he squeezed her just a bit. The hug was so nice, but the emotions it caused her to feel were all a bit bittersweet, since she then immediately recalled all of her problems with her parents and her sister, all of whom she hadn't spoken to in weeks, and also her relationship issues with both Puck and Finn. She pulled herself out of the hug, and looked into his eyes for a moment, still not really wanting to leave this safe, warm environment. But she couldn't stay. So she said her parting words.

"Later, Mr. Schue." She grabbed her jacket and proceeded out the front door.

* * *

Quinn spent another evening in the Hudson household not saying more than two words to her boyfriend, and so the next day at school, Quinn decided she wanted to talk to Finn about the status of their relationship once and for all. Either get closer than they currently were, and be back to really acting like boyfriend and girlfriend... or break up. But all of this awkwardness between them... she just couldn't stand it any longer.

Between third and fourth periods, she saw from a distance that Finn was entering the boys' restroom. She walked over to the lockers in front of it and waited for him to emerge once he was finished.

"Hi," he greeted her simply when he saw her.

"Hi," she replied. After a few moments of silence and just looking at each other, she decided to cut right to the chase. "Can we be in love again?" She really wanted to know, sincerely, if that was even possible. She looked up at him, unsure of what his reply would be.

"I have to tell you something first," he said. "I uh... I want us to be honest with each other no matter what." Quinn felt those words cut through her in multiple ways at once. She was still not even close to being honest with Finn about everything... and what could he possibly be about to tell her that he hadn't been honest about before?

"You can tell me anything," she replied.

"Cool, uh. It- It's not really even that big a deal, I mean I didn't... actually do anything, but... uh the other night when you were babysitting, I kinda went over to Rachel's house."

Quinn felt a bit horrified by his confession right then, because it sounded a lot like he cheated on her. And she had sort of pushed him into it. She was about to say something when Finn continued.

"But nothing happened!" he assured her quickly. "I... just was worked up about us fighting," he continued, looking off to the side, thinking about why he did what he did. "And then... she put on this really weird cat woman suit. And so I- I think something could've happened, but... it- it didn't!" He got a lot quieter. "Because I only want to be with you," he ended sweetly.

"It's alright," she responded. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for being honest with me." After what had just happened with Puck, she loved the stark contrast of Finn.

"I love you, Quinn," Finn said to her. He then leaned down and wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you, too," she whispered to him as she hugged him back, getting onto her tiptoes because he was so much taller than her. They embraced each other for quite a while, really touching each other and feeling emotionally connected for the first time in a while.

They walked down the hall together with their arms around each other, and Quinn felt truly happy and loved. They parted ways for their different fourth period classes. When they met up again for glee club, which was the final period that day, Mr. Schue informed them that hairography was out, and instead they were going to try out a number with absolutely no dancing at all.

After the kids had all brought stools into the auditorium, they started to sing a rendition of "True Colors" with Tina actually taking a lead solo for once. She had a really beautiful voice, Quinn noticed. Finn looked over at her and she smiled at him, feeling warmth throughout her whole body. He smiled sweetly back. She then noticed Puck. He was looking down and seemed unusually sad. He probably had gathered, correctly, from the way they'd ended things the day before that Quinn was no longer going to be okay with raising a baby with Puck. And he was probably mourning his chance to parent this baby too. Quinn felt a bit sorry for him, looking over and seeing that sweet vulnerability that Puck so rarely showed to the world. He then looked over at her. She didn't pretend to not have been staring at him, but rather continued to meet his eyes in a steady gaze. She didn't smile... but she didn't scowl either, nor frown. She just... looked at him, unsure of what she felt anymore.

* * *

The next day was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so it was only a half-day at school. Carole would still be working a regular shift that didn't end until close to dinner time, but Quinn and Finn had the whole afternoon off.

After they walked through the front door, when Quinn was still taking off her coat, Finn said, "We're home alone." She turned to look at him and saw him grinning. He continued, "Do you want to make out on the couch?"

Quinn smiled and considered for a moment. "Sure. But do you want to..." she hesitated, getting a bit nervous at the prospect of what she was about to propose.

"What?" Finn asked, encouraging her to finish her sentence.

"Do you want go into one of our bedrooms, instead?" She looked up at him, gauging his reaction. She'd been feeling an increase in her sex-drive ever since her second trimester had started, although until now, there had never been anywhere close to a reasonable opportunity for her to be able to act upon that. While she was pretty sure that she didn't want to go all the way with Finn and sin in God's eyes (since, after all, she still was unmarried), she did feel that maybe feeling each other up and going farther than they ever had before might be worth trying. It wouldn't be going so far as to be sinning... and she just figured a bed might be a better location for that.

Finn's eyes went wide and he seemed both excited and terrified at the same time. "Are you... sure?"

Quinn nodded with a slight smile, and reached down to grab one of his hands.

"Wait; do you want to actually...?" he trailed off.

"I..." she hesitated, a part of her truly wanting to say yes. "No," she said, sticking to her guns. Just because she'd made that mistake and transgressed once in this area on that unforgettable night with Puck, didn't mean that it was okay to do it again. She watched Finn struggle not to look too disappointed and she appreciated the effort – he was always so sweet when it came to respecting her desires like that. "I mean, I want to, but I just don't think I should," she tried to justify, hoping that he still understood that she couldn't because of her religion. As soon as she thought about her religion like this, she found herself actually able to feel her little gold cross necklace on her neck, like a small cold metal reminder. Just the same, she pulled him toward the staircase.

"Wait but then why..." Finn started to ask as he let himself be dragged behind his pregnant girlfriend.

"You'll see why in a minute," she assured him. She giggled playfully as she led them the rest of the way to his bedroom, feeling adventurous.

* * *

Breathing heavily, they both were taking a break from their kissing session, lying in Finn's bright red sheets.

"You know what these smell like?" Quinn asked him as she pressed a piece of the cloth up against her face.

"What?"

"You!" She grinned from ear to ear, enjoying herself more than she had in ages. He chuckled and then rolled back on top of her, slowly but passionately pressing his lips against hers and letting his tongue venture into her mouth a bit. A few minutes ago he had been allowed, finally, to touch her butt and keep his hand there for a significant period of time, and now Finn decided he wanted to try feeling her breast – and not just feel it, but get to it under her shirt.

Quinn felt one of his hands slide under her shirt near her waist and slide up her back, and she loved the feeling. She had felt similarly, she realized, when Puck had rubbed his hand across the inside of her thigh, but as soon as that thought crossed her mind it was gone again, and instead she was fully focused on Finn. She decided to slide her hand up under his shirt too, and really feel some of his muscles and the texture of his skin.

Before long, she felt Finn's hand cupping her left breast. He was on the outside of her bra, and didn't seem to have any intentions of taking it off or even necessarily sliding under it, so she still felt safe enough, like they weren't really going too far. All of a sudden she winced a little though, and made a small noise in discomfort. This caused Finn to jerk up and off of her much more dramatically than was necessary. Worry emanated from his eyes.

"What is it?" he asked, glancing down toward her pregnant belly. He frantically continued, "Is it the baby? Did I hurt it? I mean... her? Did I hurt her? Is she okay?"

Quinn smiled sympathetically. "Finn, relax," she said. "I appreciate you being so concerned for the baby, but no, you didn't hurt her. I'm sure she's fine." She felt bad for freaking him out so much and also regretted unintentionally ruining the mood. "It's just my, you know, breasts. They're... sorta sensitive right now and the way you were touching that one at the end there... hurt a little. But it's no big deal."

"Oh," Finn replied. "Well, I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," he finished somberly. He looked into Quinn's eyes with such sincerity that it started to break her heart.

"I know," she told him. "And you barely hurt me. It was nothing. _I'm_ sorry."

They then heard the noise made by the front door to the house opening.

"Oh no! My mom's home," Finn said, getting off the bed and trying to fix his ruffled hair.

"Finn? Quinn?" Carole called out from downstairs. Quinn followed her boyfriend's example as he walked over toward his bedroom door.

"Yeah, we're here!" he called back.

Carole went upstairs and looked at Quinn leaving her son's room. The messy state of her long blond hair made what they had just been doing fairly obvious. Carole simply smirked. She knew… but she didn't seem to mind. Quinn was grateful that this was her only reaction and smiled back, blushing a little. She totally loved Finn's mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On a possibly interesting note – I remember watching Glee's episode "Hairography" for the first time on Thanksgiving (the United States holiday) in 2009 - it aired the day immediately prior. So it makes sense for Thanksgiving to be around then in the timeline of the show, I think. I'm trying to make the timeline of Quinn's pregnancy make as much sense as possible too, so um my plan is that 1x13 "Sectionals" will be near the end of December and 1x14 "Hell-O" is when school returned for the Glee kids in January 2010... and somehow 1x22 "Journey to Regionals" when Beth was born will be May and close enough to the end of a typical American school year as well as when, I'm pretty sure, it makes sense for Quinn to give birth.


	17. Thanksgiving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be a bit of a shorter chapter, because it's all made-up stuff again, just like Chapter 14 "Maternity Shopping" was. Last time it had been between 1x10 and 1x11 lol. This time I ended up making a whole chapter between episodes 1x11 and 1x12. I know it seems like I'm starting a pattern, but I'm fairly sure that I'm not going to be doing one of these chapters between every single episode… just when it makes sense in my own head. :P

Quinn stood by the doorframe to Finn's bedroom and saw that he was wearing khaki pants and a light blue button-up shirt. He seemed to be struggling a little in his attempt to put on a brown checkered tie. Quinn turned, as Carole emerged from the master bedroom.

"Oh, are you wondering what you should wear to Thanksgiving today?" she asked, noticing Quinn still in her nightgown.

"Uh… yeah."

They both smiled. Mrs. Hudson was dressed up too, wearing a nice maroon blouse and black skirt with her hair done up in a pretty bun. She was even wearing some silver earring hoops and the combination of everything made her look more beautiful than Quinn had ever seen her before.

"Wow, you look amazing," she commented.

"Aw, thank you," Carole replied, her cheeks turning a little red. "Yeah, sorry I forgot to tell you before, but we do usually get a bit dressed up for Thanksgiving in our family."

"Mine too," she replied, remembering previous Thanksgivings she'd attended. She was already missing some of the small things that were staples every year at her own family's Thanksgiving, such as her grandmother's amazing apple pie, and her uncle showing off his piano playing skills on her grandfather's beautiful grand piano in the living room of her father's childhood home. Everyone got dressed up for Thanksgivings in the Fabray family just as, she now knew, they did in Finn's.

* * *

She showered, then found a black maternity dress that she'd recently purchased which she figured would be formal enough for the occasion. She put on some stockings to keep her warm and was working on picking out a bracelet and earring set that would go nicely with the outfit and help dress it up a bit when Carole knocked on her bedroom door.

"Quinn, honey… would you like some help fixing up your hair?" she offered through the door. Quinn considered for a moment.

"Yeah, that'd be great, actually," she replied. She briskly walked over to let Mrs. Hudson into the room. "I was just deciding on what jewelry to wear," Quinn explained as she turned the doorknob, and then gestured toward the top of her dresser where she'd laid out three options.

"Oh, I really love those earrings," Carole commented, pointing to the set in the middle which were simple, small diamond earrings - real diamonds in 14-karat gold backings which would match her gold cross necklace. She did find the cut of the diamonds and the way they sparkled to be remarkably gorgeous. If she wore them though, because they were small, she would need a hairstyle that kept her hair completely up and left her ears visible to the world.

"Thanks," Quinn said. She picked one of them up and started to put it in her ear. "So," she continued, still putting the earrings on, "could you maybe put my hair up into a bun like yours?"

"Oh, sure. I'd love to." Carole grabbed the hairbrush off of the nightstand by her bed, opened up the drawer to find a few bobby pins, and then walked over to sit on the edge of Quinn's bed, positioning herself for the task. She gestured nearby on the bedspread, silently asking the girl to join her.

"Thanks," Quinn said quietly in appreciation. She took a seat on the comforter.

Carole commented, "It'll look so different than on my head given your long and thin hair too, I think. Different but still beautiful, I'm sure," she clarified. Quinn nodded in agreement and then turned her back to the woman so that the hair-styling could commence. She held as still as she could until Carole was finished.

* * *

It was nine sharp early Thursday morning and they were leaving the house, right on schedule. Carole was of course taking the driver's seat, and Finn started to head towards the passenger seat in the front of the car, which would leave Quinn alone in one of the three back seats of Carole's old station wagon. She didn't think she'd mind too much as she could still carry on a conversation with the two of them if she wished, even from the backseat. But Carole seemed to think it was a major problem.

"Don't be rude to your girlfriend," Finn's mother scolded him, noticing his hand reaching for the handle of the passenger side's door. "Sit in the back with her! Keep her company!" She closed her eyes and shook her head a little, her body language continuing the sentiment that what Finn had been about to do would have been very inconsiderate.

Quinn's boyfriend sat beside her, and everyone buckled up. They departed from the driveway quietly. Finn's eyes moved from his mother toward Quinn. He was acting a little sheepish.

"I'm sorry," he said to her. "I wasn't thinking-"

"I know, don't worry about it," Quinn said, cutting him off kindly. She reached out her hand and gently placed it on his. Their eyes met for a moment and she successfully conveyed to him that she was not in the least bit upset.

* * *

After they'd been driving for maybe five minutes, Finn asked his mom to put in a The Get Up Kids CD.

"The Get Up Kids?" Quinn asked skeptically. She had never heard of them.

"Yeah," Finn replied with excitement. "Back when I was in fifth grade, right near the very end of the school year, my uncle Xander took me to Cleveland to see Dashboard Confessional." Carole stopped at a traffic light, so she had a chance to look in the glove compartment for the album. Finn continued, "It was the Honda Civic Tour and it really rocked."

"That still doesn't explain 'The Get Up Kids'," Quinn noted, pressing for him to elaborate. She was pretty intrigued at the idea of a ten-year-old Finn going to a rock concert. She'd honestly never been to a rock concert before in her life. The only kinds of concerts she'd been to were classical music symphony performances when her parents had dragged her along, which usually she'd found quite boring.

"Right, well… I just loved the whole concert including the bands that opened that night. After that concert, I went out and bought Thrice's and The Get Up Kids' CDs. And since Uncle Xander's gonna be there today," he told Quinn, "well, it just makes me think about that concert. And that makes me want to hear some of those songs again."

"Oh, okay," she replied, finally understanding. "Makes sense, I guess." She paused for a few seconds, glancing up front and seeing Carole placing the CD case down on the passenger seat because the light had turned green. _She was such a responsible driver,_ Quinn noted mentally. _I bet she'll finish the task of getting the music started at the next traffic light._

"I think they broke up very soon after that tour," Finn said, filling the silence, "but I just found out the band got back together and they're going to release a new album sometime soon!" He seemed really happy at this prospect.

"Cool," Quinn responded. After another minute of silence, she asked, "So… you really went to a rock concert when you were only in fifth grade?" Finn nodded.

"Well, just so you know," Carole chimed in, "I made him wear earplugs. And my sister swore her husband was a responsible enough guy that I could trust him to take good care of my boy here." She braked at a stop sign and looked around. There were no cars anywhere in sight, and so she took the opportunity to remove the CD from its case and put it in the disc drive. The music started playing fairly loudly. Finn leaned over to say something quietly, something he didn't seem to want Carole to hear.

"I had to beg my mom for like a _month_ before she let me go." He chuckled softly, still letting the music drown out the noise, and Quinn giggled too as she could picture how it must have occurred.

* * *

The car ride lasted about three hours, which was only an hour extra caused by the Thanksgiving morning traffic. Carole insisted it could've been much worse. Quinn found the ride fairly pleasant, despite being long. It was noon, and by this point Quinn was starving. She was eating for two now, and all she had wanted to eat at around eight that morning had been a banana and a single, fairly small bowl of Wheat Chex cereal. She wondered if the feast of the day would be served soon, and was a midday thing, or if they would have to wait until evening for the food.

When she stood up to get out of the car, she found herself feeling oddly lightheaded. It only lasted a matter of moments, but she still worried a bit about her health, for her own sake as well as her daughter's. She was not used to that sensation of almost-dizziness, and she didn't like it at all. Carole and Finn didn't seem to notice her lingering behind a bit because of it though, so she didn't say anything. She didn't want to make a big deal about what was probably one of the many normal things pregnancy does to women.

She walked briskly in order to catch up to her boyfriend and his mother, following behind them on the stone path to the front door of the house. There was a nice flower bed in the front yard which the three of them were walking past, and right by the door there were some more flowers planted in mulch. It seemed like Finn's grandmother might be a bit of a gardener. The door opened for them before they'd even gotten a chance to knock, the relatives apparently already aware that they'd arrived.

"I was by the window, so I saw your car pull up into the driveway," a young girl with long brown hair explained. Quinn remembered something about Finn having cousins who were ten and six who would be here at this family gathering. This must have been the ten-year-old cousin. As Finn, then Carole, and lastly Quinn entered the house, the girl smiled at them, holding the door open until they were all through, and then shut it behind them. She seemed very polite and a bit precocious, and was wearing a beautiful forest green dress that reminded Quinn of something she'd worn to church on Christmas morning when she was around that age. Once in the house, she immediately noticed the scent of turkey which must have been in the oven at that very moment, and then wondered if there was a closet or rack where she could hang up her coat. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, a slightly elderly woman emerged from around the corner and offered to take their winter outerwear.

"Thanks, Mom," Carole said sweetly, clearly happy to see her mother. She started to take off her jacket but her mother stopped her by surprising her with a tight embrace. Carole let out a slight laugh, still being squeezed awkwardly, but lovingly by the woman.

"Sorry, sweetie. I just wanted to hug you. It's been far too long!" She let go of her daughter and headed toward her grandson. "Finn, you too. I think you may have grown since the last time I saw you!" Carole took off her coat and Quinn did the same while Finn was suffocated by his grandmother's arms.

"I can't breathe," Finn protested under his breath, but his grandmother either didn't hear him or didn't care. When she set him free, she approached Quinn.

"And hello. You're Finn's girlfriend, right?" She extended her hand, and Quinn politely shook it, then introduced herself.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm Quinn." She felt so nervous and wondered if anyone had told her that she was pregnant. She was afraid that any one of the guests there would notice her baby bump, despite it not being all that big yet. She was grateful the black dress she was wearing was able to successfully hide it better than most other colors would. Still, she hoped no one would bring up the elephant in the room, and now that she'd met the first guest, she already liked this sweet old lady enough that she didn't want her to suddenly be judging her the way her own family did when they found out.

"I'm Stacy!" the ten-year-old girl replied, running up right next to the spot where Quinn's hand was currently meeting Finn's grandmother's. Quinn turned to the girl and smiled at her.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." She moved from the somewhat leathery-feeling hand of the grandmother into a handshake with the young girl, feeling the stark contrast of her small and soft hand, and much gentler grip.

"My little brother, Kyle, is in the living room along with my mom and dad," she added, pointing over toward a room that must have been around the corner.

"Cool," Quinn replied, not sure what else to say.

Once Finn's grandmother had taken care of all three of the new arrivals' coats, she led the way into the living room.

"Hi!" a woman cheerfully exclaimed, seeing the three of them enter the room, along with her daughter. Her eyes locked on the blond. "You must be Quinn?" She headed toward them as Quinn nodded.

"Yeah," she replied.

"It's lovely to meet you. I see you've already met my Stacy?" She smiled hugely and Quinn saw the resemblance between her and her sister Carole in her facial features, especially her eyes. "I'm her mother, Amelia."

"Nice to meet you too," Quinn said quietly.

Finn already had left all of the women to join the guys, his uncle Xander and his cousin Kyle. Quinn glanced over and saw the young boy run toward the tall teenager's legs to embrace him in a hug, which caused Finn to laugh. Quinn had never seen Finn interact with a child before, but it was nice to see that the kid seemed to really love him.

* * *

The Thanksgiving dinner was served only about an hour later. Quinn had passed the time until then mainly keeping Stacy company. Stacy was a very talkative girl and had a lot to say about the boy in her class whom she had a crush on, the sci-fi and fantasy books she'd been enjoying reading, and all of the cool things she'd photographed with the digital camera she'd received for her birthday less than a month prior. Now as they sat down at the large dining room table set to serve eight, the girl was busy telling Quinn all about how her room was decorated, complete with a cool blue lava lamp. She had seated herself to Quinn's left, and so Finn took the seat to her right.

The meal was quite delicious, with a wide array of sides and not enough room on anyone's plates. Quinn particularly enjoyed the green bean casserole, again finding herself enjoying vegetables more than she ever had before her pregnancy.

"Edith, could you please pass the stuffing? It's delicious," Xander requested, speaking to Finn's grandmother.

"Thank you," she replied as she handed him the dish, clearly pleased that he liked it enough to want a second course.

Quinn noticed her boyfriend was serving himself an unusually large portion of homemade cranberry sauce. She could see the specks of orange zest visible in it and was curious to try some herself.

"Are you sure you want that much?" she asked him sincerely, not judging but just wondering. She could take some off of his plate for him if he had served more than he'd actually meant to.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Aunt Amelia's cranberry sauce is my favorite part of Thanksgiving!" he explained. Quinn expected to hear her thank him for the compliment to her cooking, but she didn't. She was distracted, Quinn noticed, by her husband at the moment.

"But I don't understand," Xander was saying. "We're not going to be driving home for hours. Having one glass of wine now won't be a problem."

Amelia seemed uncomfortable and her eyes darted around the room.

"Okay, I guess now is as good a time as any to tell… everyone," she finally replied quietly. Turning to face the rest of the table, she took a deep breath.

"Hey, Mom? Carole?" They looked up at her. "Xander?" she continued with a quick nervous smile, glancing down at her husband for a moment. "Everyone, I have an announcement to make! I'm pregnant again."

Edith gasped, and the rest of the room was silent again. Then Edith got up out of her chair and ran over to hug her younger daughter. "Honey, that is amazing!"

Xander appeared to be in shock. He clearly was not expecting this third child.

"I'm going to have a little brother?" Kyle asked excitedly.

"Or sister," Stacy commented, sounding fairly happy as well, although not quite as ecstatic about the news. Both kids began to stand up in order to join their parents and grandmother on the other side of the table.

Quinn looked over at Finn, whose eyes were fixated on his uncle. She could tell they had a really strong relationship, and she wondered what Finn was thinking right then. Not too long ago, she had given him the news that he would be a father, and he had been in a kind of shock, just like Xander currently seemed to be. But it was different; Xander was a grown man, with two other children. Finn was still just a boy, and he had never even had sex. Quinn's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her cell phone ringing faintly in the distance, over where she had left her purse.

"Excuse me," she said quietly to Carole, who seemed to be the only one at the table to notice her getting up.

She tried to answer in time, but the final ring completed right as she reached her purse. By the time she'd pulled out her phone, she already could see _1 missed call_ on the screen. She hit "send" to see who it was, and was very surprised to see her sister's name. She stared down at it for a few moments, really letting it sink it. Gabrielle was taking time on Thanksgiving to call her. Maybe this could be a good thing? She tried not to be too hopeful, and then hit the "send" button a second time in order to call her back.

"Hello?" Gabi answered after only two rings. Her voice was hesitant and soft. Clearly she already knew who was on the other end of the line.

"Hi," Quinn replied. The sisters didn't speak again right away, leaving only an awkward silence. "Um… you called me first," Quinn finally said in attempt to get Gabrielle to start off the conversation.

"Yeah, I know." More silence. Quinn could hear some commotion behind her but she didn't have any desire to turn around and see what Finn's family was up to. No, all she cared about right at that moment was finding out why exactly her sister had finally, after far too long, called her back, and what she had to say to her.

"Gabi…" she pressed on.

"I'm so sorry, Quinnie," the young woman finally said, and the words made tears begin to well up in Quinn's eyes. From the sound of her voice, Gabrielle also was near tears.

"Thanks," she replied. "But um… what…" she trailed off, afraid to really ask the question.

"…am I sorry about?" her sister finished for her. Quinn nodded, despite the fact that it couldn't be seen over the phone. Gabrielle answered just the same. "For everything. I'm… I guess I'm most sorry for not calling you back sooner." A tear escaped from Quinn's eye and she lifted her free hand and wiped it off of her cheek with her index finger. "I… I don't really know what else to say."

"But _why_ didn't you?" Quinn asked quietly, well aware that she was having an intimate conversation within earshot of some people she barely knew.

"I guess… I didn't know what to say to you. I can't imagine what you're going through. I guess I was a little afraid that you were going to go to Hell, and I couldn't deal with that," she explained, her voice breaking a little. More tears started streaming down Quinn's face, and this time she didn't bother wiping them away. She didn't know what to say to her sister in response to that. Gabrielle continued, "I miss you. You should be here. It's Thanksgiving."

"I know," Quinn replied. She missed her sister terribly too.

"I still love you," Gabi said in her teary voice. "I could never stop loving you; you know that, right?"

"I do now," Quinn breathed back.

"So…" Gabrielle started again, trying to continue the conversation. "Where are you? Are you celebrating today, or…?"

"I'm with Finn's family."

"That sounds nice."

"It is," Quinn answered truthfully.

"Are you… are you two going to get married? Because if you are, I definitely want to be there!" Quinn could practically hear her sister smiling over the phone.

"Um… no. We're not getting married," Quinn replied. She didn't feel like explaining her reasoning right then and there. But after a couple more moments of neither of them talking, she added, "I think I mentioned to you that I was planning to give the baby up. You know, let her be adopted by someone who's actually ready to be a mother."

"Right," Gabrielle replied.

"I probably should go…" Quinn mentioned, thinking about the turkey and gravy on her plate that had probably gone completely cold.

"Me too," Gabrielle replied. "But… we'll talk again soon, okay?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," Quinn said. "Goodbye?"

"Goodbye."

Quinn hung up her phone, then went over to the bathroom to look in the mirror. She wiped away all of the remaining tears on her face and made sure her mascara wasn't ruined. Luckily the waterproof mascara worked as advertised.

When she rejoined the table, everyone was finishing up their meals and seemed over the initial shock of Amelia's announcement.

"Are you okay, hun?" Carole asked Quinn in a gentle tone of voice, sounding concerned. Quinn wasn't sure if her face still retained some trace of tears or if the question merely was a result of her having disappeared from the rest of the group for a fairly lengthy phone call.

"I'm fine," Quinn replied, sincerely. She was better than fine actually; she was great. Talking to her sister and finding out that she didn't hate her… it was just what Quinn had needed. She finished up the rest of her meal, thinking about how thankful she was for all of the people she did have in her life, which now included her sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of this chapter was inspired by the Dashboard Confessional/Thrice/The Get Up Kids poster I saw hung on Finn's bedroom wall during him singing "I'll Stand By You" to the sonogram in episode 1x10 "Ballad". :P It's around 13:45 into my DVD rip copy of the episode if anyone wants to check it out. Just a little detail I thought would be fun to try to make into a storyline in this chapter. I did little Google searching to find out that the poster must have been about the Honda Civic Tour in 2004 and then Wikipedia helped me find out other details too… ;) You can fact-check me if you want. Also, these episodes are supposed to be when Quinn & Finn are 15 or 16 years old, and it's the end of the year 2009 when this first half of season 1 of Glee was airing… so… that particular Honda Civic Tour was 5 years prior.
> 
> Carole married a guy in the Army or Marines and because of that I assume she probably had a child while pretty young. If Carole was 22 years old when her son, Finn, was born, Carole would be about 37 at this point (if Finn is, say, 15 still). Romy Rosemont (the actress who plays Carole) has been acting on imdb since 1988 and so if she was 18 when she started, in 2009 when this show was airing she would be 39 years old, so playing a 37-year-old is not unrealistic or far away). If her sister is four years younger than her, that would make her sister 33, so it's still realistically possible for Amelia to get pregnant at this point. And that would mean Amelia's first child, the 10-year-old girl, was born when she was 23. Also, if Edith had her two children at, say, ages 25 and 29, then she'd be 62 years old now, which is (for some people) old enough to be all grandmotherly and old seeming, I think - but still not insanely old for her to have started having her children, even if it was a different time back in the early 1970's. That's my thought process at this point and the ages I was thinking for everyone. I don't want to write stuff if it couldn't be realistic lol. 
> 
> Anyway… of course, thank you so much for reading, per usual! And please don't forget to review!


	18. Mr. Schue Finds Out About Terri's Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be my longest chapter yet. Usually I'd split this up into two chapters but for some reason I really wanted to get all of episode 1x12 "Mattress" into only one chapter. So here it is, with plenty jammed into this single chapter, which hopefully most of you will appreciate. ;)
> 
> It includes the Will storyline that we didn't see effect Quinn in the actual episode but which I think should have. I would have just called this chapter "Yearbook Photos" or something similar that would reflect the only major Quinn plot point in the actual episode, but I figured a more compelling chapter title, which also happens to be the thing that makes this chapter especially worth writing for me and worth reading for you, would be the fact that Will found out that his wife was not pregnant in this episode, and not only that but Terri even revealed to him that she planned on tricking him by bringing home Quinn's baby and claiming it as their own. Quinn's name was mentioned to Will, and I hate that the show didn't address that with any Will/Quinn interaction about this. But I suppose that's what fanfiction is for. ;)
> 
> I hope you all are still enjoying my fic.

Quinn was sitting back on one of the dark leather sofas in her parents' living room. She was wearing her light blue dress and white sweater, seated next to Finn in his nice suit jacket. She glanced around the house she knew so well and recognized the little lamp on the table beside them, and another large coffee table to their front with fake flowers placed there for decoration, in addition to some bowls of candy and nuts. She noticed the familiar shiny red throw pillows on the two couches and two armchairs, and the paintings and photographs in various frames on the walls and on tables at the edges of the room. She looked directly to her front, where her dad should be sitting, scowling at Quinn and Finn, no trace of empathy evident in his facial expression. She realized, however, that this time it wasn't her dad sitting in front of her. It was Carole sitting there, scowling and showing no compassion at all for the situation the girl was in.

Quinn was confused. How could Mrs. Hudson, the wonderfully kind woman, be acting this way? She turned to look to the woman's son, her wonderful boyfriend Finn, seated at her left, but suddenly he was no longer there, and it was just Quinn, all by herself, staring straight on at the woman. Quinn's eyes went wide in fear, unsure of what to do without Finn's support. She then heard his voice, and looked toward it to see him sitting where her own mother, Judy Fabray, had been sitting the night Quinn had been kicked out of her own house. Finn seemed to be angry too, just like his mother. What was he saying? She tried to listen.

The room started to grow, leaving Quinn feeling smaller and farther away from both of the Hudsons, and more so by the second. She felt tiny, and as if some horrible loneliness was about to swallow her whole… or at the least leave her as this tiny, unnoticeable dot that not a single person in the whole world would even notice had disappeared. She wanted to scream, to beg at the top of her lungs for help, for someone to come rescue her from this nightmare…

And then she woke with a start. Breathing heavily and sitting up in bed, the sheets still covering her legs, she emerged from the nightmare. She glanced at the digital alarm clock beside her, which currently read 4:00 am. She was still safe and the correct size in proportion to the guest bedroom in the Hudson household, where not too far away slept two people who did still feel empathy and compassion for her. But for how long would that last? The feelings of fear from her dream could not be shaken off easily. She knew that at any time either Carole or Finn might somehow discover the truth… and realize Quinn had been lying to them this whole time… and then… who knows what would happen to her. Where could she go? Who would be there for her? She made an effort to refrain from crying.

She tried to relax and stop thinking about the worst-case-scenario. She took a few deep breaths, then got out of bed and started heading toward the bathroom to pour herself a glass of water. She told herself that her nightmare was a stupid thing to dwell on, and after she drank a few ounces, managed to get calm enough to fall back asleep that Monday morning. She didn't want to be all exhausted on the first day of the school week.

When she finally did arrive at school only a few hours later, everyone was already preparing for the professional photographers to arrive at McKinley on Wednesday. They would be taking various different photos over the course of the three days at the end of the week. Quinn passed by some female teachers in the hallway discussing how they might wear their hair when their day came, and then she noticed Miss Sylvester's eyes, all bruised and swollen, which must have meant that for another year in a row the coach had undergone plastic surgery for the sacred occasion. In homeroom, every student received a long order form which they were supposed to take home to their parents.

Usually Russell would approve of getting the most expensive photograph package, which involved a colored background instead of the default blue behind his beloved younger daughter, and would also mean that the Fabray household would be receiving a total of twenty different copies of the pictures: five different sizes, split up into two that were the largest, four photographs in each middle size, and six of the smallest type. It cost them a total of $40 each year, but Judy and Russell both agreed that it was worth it. They would frame one of the largest ones and give out the smaller ones to most of their closest friends and relatives.

This year, however, Quinn decided to just skip purchasing the school photo package at all. They'd still take her picture for the yearbook, although for once it'd be only with the default blue backdrop. She just wouldn't be receiving any photographs to take home with her. It only made sense to avoid the extra expense this year, as she didn't have any money to spare and besides, she didn't think she'd have any use for the photos. A part of her wished she could have a differently colored backdrop, since most students go with the default blue to save money. Having green, purple, or red behind her, depending on the year, had always made her feel special. Another part of her, however, didn't mind the idea of blending in with the crowd this year, because ever since her unfortunate situation was announced in the school paper, she felt super self-conscious whenever anyone around noticed her and she constantly felt like she was being judged. If people skimmed through "The Thunderclap" at the end of the year and didn't notice Quinn Fabray, for once, she realized, that might actually be optimal.

Glee was the last class of the day that Monday, and before Mr. Schue or Rachel showed up, Kurt called a meeting amongst the rest of them. He had found out that they would not be getting a club photograph in the yearbook that year, and attempted to persuade them that they should not fight this decision made by Principal Figgins. He made a very convincing case, showing them yearbooks of the past and all of the graffiti, which was often remarkably cruel, surrounding the glee club photos. According to Kurt, multiple former glee club members had gone insane, quite possibly as a direct result from this type of permanent mockery which would stay in the school library forever. Quinn shuddered at the real life horror stories told which just might be true, such as the homeless man, Patches, in front of the Lima public library being one of these mocked glee club members.

* * *

After glee club was over that afternoon, Quinn helped many of the members carry the old yearbooks back into the library. Kurt had brought in a very heavy pile at the beginning of the meeting, and everyone just thought the nice thing to do would be to lighten his load a bit. Quinn only needed to carry one of the books since so many people were helping out. She turned around and glanced behind herself briefly, noticing that Finn and Puck were hanging back in the choir room and not helping carry any of the yearbooks. They seemed to be busy talking about something, and Quinn tried not to feel uncomfortable about it. However, every time Finn spent time with Puck, she feared that the next time she met up with her boyfriend he would suddenly know the truth about everything. She tried to push the fear out of her mind. Puck had been great so far at somehow remaining Finn's friend despite everything, and never revealing the truth, at least not yet. She tried to stop feeling so paranoid.

Kurt and Mercedes quickly put the yearbooks back on the library shelf and then immediately left the school library out of the same doors they'd, just moments prior, entered through, but a few other glee club members lingered in the library longer. Quinn sat down at the same table as Brittany and Santana, but they barely noticed her. They had been there when Kurt had explained about the defacing of glee club members' faces, and yet somehow the speech seemed to have only reminded them of how fun this type of indirect bullying was. Quinn watched them giggle and both use colored markers on the pages of one yearbook from the previous year. She wasn't sure whose face they were scribbling out or "decorating"… but she barely cared. She sat there, right across from them in their Cheerios uniforms, and felt invisible. Kind of like the feeling she'd had in her nightmare… like no one would even notice if she disappeared completely, and if they did, no one would care. It seemed a lifetime away when she had been one of them - wearing that uniform, mocking fellow students who joined lame clubs. The uniform had made her feel safe, contained, and like even if she was feeling left out, if she was wearing it, she at least looked like she was a part of something. She was never invisible when she was a Cheerio.

Eventually, Brittany and Santana got tired of the mockery and left to go home. They didn't even bother to say a parting word to Quinn. She sat there, not really in the mood to return to Finn's house. She remembered when she had seen the McKinley High Yearbooks from decades back in her parents' living room. Both Judy and Russell had also attended the school when they were kids, and she had seen their photos. Her dad had been a part of the football team, and her mom was prom queen.

Quinn thought about the baby growing inside of her, the girl who would be raised by Mr. Schue and his wife. She also thought about one day actually becoming a mother for real. In the future, when she was ready, she planned to get married and have children. She wanted to actually keep and raise some kids at some point years from now, and Quinn wanted those kids of hers to be able to look back at these books and see who she was. She wanted them to be proud of her.

Quinn decided then and there, before finally returning the copy of The Thunderclap she'd been browsing to the appropriate shelf, that she would convince Miss Sylvester to let her be in the photo along with the rest of the Cheerios. After all, she had been cheerleading earlier that same school year, and she still felt like a Cheerio on the inside. She felt she deserved to be represented, and with the thought of her own future kids being proud of her, she felt a strong sense of determination to make this happen for herself.

* * *

Back in the Hudson household that evening, after the three residents ate some take-out Chinese food, Quinn requested permission to spend some time on Carole's computer. Once it was kindly granted to her, she took the opportunity to look up information on childbirth classes, which she realized she might want to take in preparation for the day when she went into labor. She also did a few searches to determine if every one of the unpleasant health changes she was experiencing was completely normal for someone in her second trimester of pregnancy. It turned out they were, and as she read up on the details, she realized she was lucky for not experiencing every possible symptom. She was around her seventeenth week of pregnancy now… very close to halfway through the nine very long months. She kept reading, and found that any day now, her baby could possibly start to hear. She smiled at the discovery of this information, and wondered which glee performance might be the first one her child truly would be experiencing with her. Quinn really did love music, and she hoped being a part of a show choir throughout her pregnancy might help instill a similar love in her child. She knew Mr. Schue would be thrilled if his daughter one day became a fan of glee as well.

* * *

On Tuesday morning, the club unanimously voted for Rachel to be the club captain. Quinn usually would never be caught dead voting for Rachel Berry, but this wasn't a positive thing, and Quinn wasn't the only one to feel that way. In fact every single member of the club _except_ for Rachel had no interest at all in being a representative for the club, appearing in the quarter-page yearbook photo that Mr. Schue had managed to acquire for them. Mr. Schue seemed to want two of the members to appear, but no one other than Rachel volunteered for the position. Quinn secretly was very glad that Finn had not done anything stupid this time. Her boyfriend, for once, understood how important it was to avoid committing social suicide.

That didn't seem to last for long, though. When Finn and Quinn met up at home after school, he told her that Rachel had stopped him in the hallway and had convinced him to become co-captain.

"How?!" Quinn asked incredulously. She simply could not believe that _anything_ Rachel Berry might say would ever be a convincing argument for anything.

"I'm a leader," Finn explained. "I need to start sticking my neck out for people that I care about. I'd do it for our baby," he explained, glancing down at Quinn's rounded abdomen. "I'd do it for you, too." He smiled at her sweetly, and Quinn couldn't help but let his kind words wash away most of the jealousy and annoyance she was feeling.

"Alright, I guess it's your funeral and not mine," she replied casually, smirking a little. He grinned back, pleased that she wasn't making a counter argument, and then bent down to kiss her. She really did feel that now, no one at the school really judged Quinn by her boyfriend anymore. So she no longer cared too much about what Finn did or didn't do… and besides, kissing him was lovely. She reached up with her arms and gently placed them on his shoulders as she continued their lip lock.

* * *

The next day, Quinn received a text from Rachel requesting that she please attend an unofficially called glee club meeting… one which wouldn't include Mr. Schue. It was taking place after the club photo where both Finn and Rachel would be shot. Quinn found out everyone else, like Tina and Artie, would be attending, so she figured she might as well show up too. She was sitting in one of those plastic burgundy chairs, waiting for the meeting to commence, when she found out that her boyfriend had not, in the end, joined Rachel for the glee yearbook photo. Quinn tried to follow what was happening, but Finn couldn't really explain himself to her properly yet, not when Rachel was still yammering on in front of them all. Quinn didn't even bother to try and follow what Rachel was saying.

The annoying Jewish girl then presented to them the opportunity to become stars, which piqued Quinn's attention.

"How?" she asked.

"We've all been cast," Rachel answered with a dramatic pause, "in a local commercial." She beamed at the rest of the club. Everyone gasped in reserved excitement.

"Are you serious?" Finn asked. When Rachel confirmed that she was, and began to explain how this casting of the club came to be, everyone finally let themselves start to get thrilled by this notion, even Quinn. The fact that it was Rachel of all people doing it for them couldn't even ruin it for her. She truly was excited by this opportunity. Being on TV would be _so cool_!

The shooting of this commercial would have to be right after the unofficially called glee club meeting, so Finn called his mom to inform her why they wouldn't be home as early as they had originally planned. Quinn could hear Carole's squeal through the cell phone, clearly overjoyed with the prospect of her son becoming a local "celebrity". Quinn couldn't help but let everyone's happiness infect her too. It really was the most exciting thing to happen to any of them in ages. She wanted to let herself just have fun and do this.

Apparently all filming would occur right at the store itself, and the camera crew was bringing their equipment there. So everyone left the school, proceeded to whatever car they had driven or gotten a ride in, and headed to Mattress Land.

Once they were there, the commercial director asked them all to find a costume that fit and change into it. He then dumped a large pile of blue pajamas in front of them and the twelve teenagers scrambled to find their size as quickly as they could. Quinn was really thankful for the loose-fitting costume; she wouldn't even need to adjust her usual size because of her baby bump. She found what she was looking for quickly and then walked up to the two men who seemed to be in charge of the whole commercial.

"Are we supposed to be barefoot, or…?" she asked, trailing off hesitantly.

"Oh, right," the cameraman replied, talking more to himself then back to Quinn. Then he looked away from her and very loudly made his announcement.

"Everyone, make sure you remove your shoes!"

Quinn carried her pajamas to the corner of the room, the most private place she could find, and slipped out of her gold shoes. She then took off her purple sweater, and purple headband. She was stalling a little, not exactly anxious to change in front of eleven people she saw every day plus two strangers. She wished the Mattress Land had a dressing room… or the commercial director had brought a changing partition with him or something. He had been able to provide mirrors and chairs… and some hairbrushes and make-up even. Why not something for privacy?

Quinn looked around and saw Mercedes taking off her shirt and revealing her chubby stomach and bright pink bra to the world, not shameful in the slightest. She saw Artie pull off his pants to reveal his boxers, somehow able to manage this while still sitting in his chair, and unable to move either of his legs. She realized she was being silly. No one was paying attention to anyone else's almost-naked body. She didn't have to be so nervous. As quickly as she could, turning her back to everyone so that they wouldn't see where her daughter was making her most visibly bigger, she pulled her white dress over her head and off of her body, and then replaced it with the light blue sleepwear.

Everyone had about five minutes to fix their hair and put on some make-up if they wished. Quinn tried to braid a small portion of her hair, because she knew she'd feel prettier if she did something like that rather than just leaving it all loose. Plus it'd be nice to keep it out of her face. It was difficult, however, to do on her own head, especially without mirrors both in front and behind her, and Kurt must have noticed her struggling because he kindly offered his assistance.

They were all handed a photocopy of the script, and then were asked to read aloud their parts, a sort of one-time rehearsal before they would be expected to have their short line or two memorized. They needed to be able to perform it without holding onto a sheet of paper when on camera, of course. Finn would start the whole commercial off with a simple, "Ah, me…" and then Puck seemed to really get into his role, overacting in a really cute way.

"We just lost our jobs," he declared in a very depressed tone. After an excessively long pause, he added, "At the factory. And we can't get a good _night's_ sleep," he finished, awkwardly stressing his words, clearly trying hard, but failing miserably. Quinn suppressed the urge to laugh at the acting attempt, but still smiled. Quinn thought he should really stick to his guitar playing and singing – he was great at that.

Rachel then, as much as Quinn hated to admit it, had a great idea. She intelligently complimented the script as brilliant before proposing that because they were a glee club, they should perform a musical number instead for the commercial. The owner of Mattress Land seemed to love the idea.

"That sounds really unique. It'd make the commercial stand out. Let's do it," he told the cameraman. "But um… did any of you have a song in mind?"

No one answered at first. Quinn tried to think of songs about sleeping, and nothing really came to mind. Sleep was kind of a boring thing to write a song about, she realized.

"What about 'Jump' by Van Halen," Artie then suggested. Everyone turned to look at him. "It's a hit song from the 80's; I have it on my iPod if anyone isn't familiar with it. Obviously, I can't exactly jump on a mattress," he said, gesturing to his wheelchair, "but the rest of you can. I think it'd be perfect for what Mr. Cusperberg said he wanted. He said he wanted buying an affordable mattress to appear to be fun… and isn't jumping the most fun thing the typical person can do on a mattress?"

Quinn couldn't help but feel sorry for Artie. Of course he of all people would be the person to think about the fun experience of jumping on a mattress… yet another thing that being paralyzed prevented him from doing.

* * *

The next day at school, after they had shot the whole commercial, everyone in the glee club was in a great mood. Even Quinn entered the halls with a smile plastered to her face, but then a particular older blond woman in a navy blue track suit caught her eye, and what she had resolved to do came rushing back to her mind. They were already walking toward each other, but Sue's gaze had not reached the girl. Quinn quickened her pace in order to become face to face with her faster.

"Coach Sylvester, we need to talk."

"Oh, I got nothing to say to you, Preggo," Sue replied. Quinn ignored her rudeness and continued.

"The Cheerios' photo is tomorrow, and I want back on that squad." She emphasized the second half of that sentence, making sure her former coach heard every word loud and clear.

"Oh, is that what you want? Well, what I wanted," Sue explained nonchalantly, "was a head cheerleader who wasn't going to hoist her legs behind her ears in the backseat of the first station wagon she could jimmy open, throwing away any chance she ever had in life." Quinn pursed her lips and swallowed, trying not to let any of the harsh words faze her.

"It would be good for the school," Quinn responded, remembering the little persuasive speech she had prepared. "Show everyone that appearances don't matter – that sometimes people have to deal with a little adversity. I learned that in glee club."

"Well, that little educational proverb must have slithered from Will Schuester's mouth right after his lesson on how to disqualify yourselves from Sectionals."

"What?"

"Saw your little commercial last night," Sue explained, without explaining anything. "Boy, did you glee kids step in it."

Sue walked away from the girl, leaving her jaw open in both frustration and disbelief. What was she talking about? The commercial… disqualifying them from Sectionals? Quinn tried but failed to put the pieces together on her own.

When she went to glee rehearsal that morning though, she and the rest of the club quickly were enlightened.

"I am afraid I have some really bad news," Mr. Schuester started to explain. "Technically… it is illegal according to the national show choir competition rulebook for us to accept payment for a professional performance, because that would mean we were no longer "amateurs", which is what the competition is supposed to cater to."

"But we didn't get paid," Rachel replied, confused and scared at the same time. Being disqualified clearly would be Rachel's worst nightmare.

"I'm…" Will hesitated, and looked the whole club up and down. "I'm really sorry guys, but you were paid, technically, in the form of mattresses."

"Then we can just return them!" Quinn suggested. Will then looked at her, and Quinn couldn't shake the feeling that he… he was looking at her differently than usual. He stared at her for a few seconds longer than made sense, before finally replying.

"I… I unfortunately already used one of them, so we can't return them. I am _so_ sorry, guys."

"Used one? What do you mean?" Finn asked.

"You can't seriously be so dedicated to being a teacher that you just never go home," Santana added sarcastically.

"I…" Mr. Schue started to answer them. He glanced awkwardly toward Quinn for a very brief moment, and she felt sure she wasn't imagining things now. He was acting very awkwardly toward her.

"I got into a big fight with my wife last night," he started to finally say, and Quinn drew in her breath. If he'd found out about the whole fake pregnancy thing, that would _really_ explain the awkwardness with which he was looking at her. "So I came here," he continued. "I wasn't sure where else to go. I wasn't expecting them, but the mattresses were just there… so I slept on one."

None of the students really knew how to react to that. Their teacher's life was falling apart to such a degree that he was sleeping at school? This was sad to the extreme, and only Quinn knew exactly how bad it really might be. She felt terribly guilty immediately, and somewhere in her mind, for months already she had known that she probably should have told Mr. Schue about his crazy wife's schemes rather than go along with them. Mr. Schue probably hated Quinn now… and she had never wanted that from such a sweet man who had been nothing but kind to her ever since finding out about her pregnancy.

Everyone left glee club in disappointment, feeling sure that Miss Sylvester had successfully gotten what she'd wanted – the glee club destroyed. Quinn lingered back in the room, unable to just exit without first… finding out exactly what her teacher did or did not know. The fate of her unborn child hung in the balance, if nothing else.

"Mr. Schue?" Quinn softly asked him, once they were both alone. He had not noticed her hanging back in the room, being so immersed in his own thoughts as he leaned against the piano. He clearly felt awful for destroying the whole club's chances of going to Sectionals… and Quinn wondered how much of the sadness she sensed emanating from him also was because of whatever had occurred with Terri.

"Oh, Quinn," Will replied, a little surprised. His eyes darted away from her briefly, and he ever so slightly bit his lip, clearly unsure of how to deal with her right then and there. But he wasn't… he wasn't acting angry with her, which confused Quinn a bit.

"I… I was just wondering… what happened between you and your wife? I don't mean to pry, but..." She hated having to ask like this, but she needed to.

"Oh. Right." Will flashed her a brief, weak smile, pursing his lips awkwardly and gathering his thoughts before answering. "I know… that my wife isn't pregnant. And that you were… going to give her your baby."

Quinn closed her eyes, her fears unfortunately now confirmed. She took a deep breath, her eyes still closed.

"I'm sor-" she started to apologize in a whisper, but Mr. Schue interrupted her.

"No. Don't be sorry." He walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not mad at _you_ ," he explained gently, heavily implying that he _was_ mad at his wife.

"But why not?" Quinn asked quietly with trepidation, her voice higher pitched than normal. She felt he had every reason to be angry with her too, not only Terri.

"Quinn," he softly replied, "you're just a kid. And I'm not sure what happened exactly, but I have a feeling my wife was the one who came up with the whole… plan, and not you," he added, faltering a bit, clearly still reeling from the pain of the revelation but trying to make it clear to Quinn that he only blamed Terri.

"I guess that makes sense," she replied, flashing her teacher an apologetic smile and still feeling guilty just the same. "Thank you, Mr. Schue."

"Thank you?" he asked.

"For… being you. For still being so nice to me, even after… all of this." She hoped he could hear just how grateful she really was.

"Oh… well, of course, Quinn. You're welcome," he responded. She turned to leave, to head home to Finn's house, when she realized she still had something to say to him. She turned back to Will.

"Oh, and Mr. Schue…" she trailed off.

"Yes?"

"I would have loved for you to be the… adoptive father of my baby. You still can be, if you want to. Even if your wife won't be involved." His eyes widened in surprise, and she replied silently with a sincere smile. She turned and left, giving him a chance to think about what she said.

* * *

Friday morning, when Quinn got dressed, she decided to be daring and just wear her old Cheerios uniform. She still had it, after all… she had brought it with her when she'd packed her suitcase that night when her parents had kicked her out, and even then she must have, in the back of her mind, known that she'd want to wear it again for an occasion such as yearbook photo day. She packed herself some other clothes too, just in case Coach Sylvester didn't allow her to be in the Cheerios photograph, but she was hoping for the best.

When she arrived at school, she headed directly into the woman's office. Sue was distracted, writing into her journal. So Quinn had to announce her presence.

"Miss Sylvester." Sue turned up to face her.

"It's like looking at a porno star in a nun's habit."

"I wanted to show you that it still fits. My baby bump isn't that bad, it's just like I had a big lunch." Quinn hoped this visual argument might work better than her merely verbal one had worked the day before.

"Take it off," Sue insisted. "You need to get it through your pregnant head; there's no way you're getting in that photo or back on the Cheerios. End of story."

So that was that. Miss Sylvester was not going to allow Quinn to be in the photo. And suddenly, Quinn realized she was fine with that. If her former coach couldn't look past a tiny baby bump and would continue to berate her for simply being pregnant, while Mr. Schue could look past Quinn helping to cover for his wife for months… she realized she really should feel proud to be a part of glee and not feel so desperate for Miss Sylvester's approval anyway.

"You're a hypocrite," Quinn told Sue.

"Excuse me?"

"I just heard that you got glee club's amateur status revoked over a _mattress_ , while _you_ are constantly showering the Cheerios with swag. I've gotten free shoes, complimentary tanning, haircuts… the season tickets to Cedar Point? We sold those on eBay. For a profit. Seems to me that if Figgins found out, _you_ would get banned from competition."

"Fine. You're back on the Cheerios. I'll put you on full time dry cleaning duty and shove you to the back of the photo to hide your shame."

"I'm not finished. Glee club gets a _full page photo_."

"That's not up to me."

"You are giving up one of the Cheerios' _six_ pages, and you are _giving_ it to the glee club free of charge."

"You know, Q, I'd forgotten just how ruthless you really are. You're like a young Sue Sylvester," she said with admiration. She switched back quickly, however, to coldness. "Now get out of my office. If you can manage to squeeze through the door without your water breaking all over my new carpet." Quinn turned around and started to walk away from Sue's desk, then turned back to share one last thought with Sue.

"You know what? I don't think I want to be a Cheerio after all. I don't want to be on a team where I only _appear_ to belong. I'd rather be a part of a club that's proud to have me - like glee club."

Quinn left Miss Sylvester's office with her hands on her hips, proud of herself and more happy to be a part of glee than she had probably ever felt before.

* * *

When the glee club met that day, she announced to everyone that she had secured them a full page photo, and they would be able to take it during the second half of the glee club period. Everyone was excited and impressed with Quinn for pulling it off, and no one was upset anymore at the prospect of the yearbook vandalism. They just wanted to cherish the good memories of doing the mattress commercial and being friends, even if they couldn't actually compete at Sectionals this year.

Then, Mr. Schue walked in, and announced that they could, after everything, do Sectionals! No one understood how it was even possible, but then their teacher explained that as long as he stepped down and stopped being their club director, they could still go and compete.

"But we don't want to go to Sectionals without you!" Artie told him.

"It's without me or not at all," Will replied, sighing. "Look, I was the one who slept on the mattress, which means I accepted them, not you. Which means _I'm_ disqualified from competition, not you guys."

"He's taking the bullet for us," Puck noted. "Solid."

"We have worked too hard for you guys not to get your shot," Will continued.

"But we can't do this without you, Mr. Schue," Finn said. "Hell, we probably can't do it _with_ you."

"That's not true," Will countered. "You guys are good. You're really good. You did 'Jump' for that commercial without me, right? Look, the best teachers don't give you the answers. They just point the way and let you make your own choices... your own mistakes. That way, you get all the glory. And you deserve it."

Everyone kept quiet, their faces solemn. None of them could imagine going through with this competition without Mr. Schuester, who had always been there, helping them improve with their singing and coming up with the choreography for their dances. Especially after everything Mr. Schue had said to Quinn yesterday, and how he'd acted… she just felt awful that he was going to be missing out on their moment to shine.

"Look, if… if you can't win without me there, then I haven't done my job."

"We're really sorry, Mr. Schue," Rachel said.

"I know," he replied. "Now, I want you guys to go get gussied up, and take that glee club photo with pride. I want to see a smile on every one of your faces."

They all headed to the bathrooms to get "gussied up" as Mr. Schue requested, and Quinn changed into a nice white dress. When she emerged from the stall, she noticed Rachel brushing her teeth, and Mercedes applying some make-up for Tina. Quinn looked at herself in the mirror from enough of a distance to see her abdomen, and decided she felt proud of even her baby bump… she didn't need to feel ashamed of being pregnant. It was who she was now, and why should she worry about what people like her parents or Miss Sylvester thought of her. Her future children should be proud of her for being exactly as she was. With that thought, Quinn posed for the picture next to her boyfriend, happier than she'd felt all week. She also felt excited about going to Sectionals the next week, and so she tried to let that show through her smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And on a somewhat related note, because of what Quinn decides about the glee club vs. the Cheerios at the end of this episode and chapter, I personally was very disappointed when in 2x01 she was back to wanting to rejoin the Cheerios. It felt out of character to me and… just really bothered me lol. Now that a lot of time has passed since I first saw that season 2 premiere, I'm less upset about it, and in some ways could see how maybe it could be in character for Quinn. But I still kind of wish they'd taken the entire Quinn character and storyline in a different direction after season 1.


	19. Finn's Done With Her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first chapter of the entire fic that I decided to publish without getting it beta-ed at all. From here till the end of my fic, I have posted un-betaed work. I think I have gotten a bit better at proofreading things myself and it should be okay. I've improved my writing skills since when I first started writing this, as well.

The December breeze chilled Quinn down to the bone as she left the school and headed to her car. She pulled her coat tighter, remembering the events that had just transpired. The New Directions had met after school for their first glee rehearsal without Mr. Schuester present, and after practicing the numbers they'd decided on for Sectionals, Quinn stupidly slipped on some sweat and fell on her butt. Both Finn and Puck had rushed to her aid.

"Is it the baby? Is it coming?" Finn had asked in a bit of a panic.

"I think we're supposed to get hot towels," Puck said, as if they'd be delivering her only eighteen-week old _extremely_ premature baby right there in the school – in the freaking _choir room_. Her child would probably die as soon as she was born… if she even lived through the birth. Or would it be a miscarriage at this point? Quinn wasn't quite sure of all of the facts. All she knew was it was much too soon to be talking about hot towels. She thanked God that she had not _actually_ been in labor.

Replaying the scene over yet again in her mind, she felt so frustrated that Puck had acted that way in front of everyone in the glee club… including Finn. What if Finn had started to suspect something? And if Puck was acting like that when nothing was happening… what would he do once the time came and she was truly in labor? Quinn hoped he wouldn't insist on being there in the hospital with her. She was trying to keep the paternity of the baby a secret forever, if possible. The girl would be adopted, maybe by Mr. Schue even, and no one would need to know that the baby's biological father was not actually Finn. _No one._

She got into the car where Finn was patiently and kindly waiting for her. He drove them back to the Hudson household, which she had gotten so used to living at that in her head, she almost called it "home". She stopped herself as soon as the thought crossed her mind though. This was Finn's home, not hers. She didn't want to forget that.

When they got there, they both went straight to doing their homework. She wasn't sure about Finn's current workload, but as far as she was concerned, there was a ridiculous amount that she needed to get done. She sighed, pulling books, paper, and pencils out of her backpack. Finn started to do the same. They situated themselves near each other at the kitchen table, and Quinn glanced up at her boyfriend. He shot her a weak smile, and she understood the subtext. They both clearly felt homework sucked, but it had to be done.

* * *

The next day at school, at the beginning of Spanish class, after Quinn had placed down her homework on Mr. Schuester's big desk at the front of the room, he stopped her from returning to her seat.

"Hey, Quinn?" he asked softly.

"Yes, Mr. Schue?"

"When class is over, can you stay after for a minute? I… I just would like to talk."

"Uh… sure," Quinn replied, unsure what this would all be about. The mystery killed her as she returned back to her desk and attempted to pay attention to the lesson being taught. Was this about glee club and something with her in particular? Maybe it was about her grades in this class… she had tried not to let the drama of her own life at the moment interfere with her study habits, but they had not received back their most recent Spanish quiz yet… maybe she flunked it or something! She tried to focus on the class and not let her mind drift to any more of the possible things Mr. Schue might be confronting her about.

When the time came, and all of the other students had left, Will caught sight of the blond girl lingering back near her desk, looking up at him expectantly. He let it show in his facial expression that he appreciated her staying after, just as he'd requested.

"So, Quinn," he started as he approached her. He smiled at her, but there was a sadness in his eyes that made Quinn feel uneasy. She waited for him to continue. "I… I can't adopt your baby," he told her. She blinked a few times, feeling a bit shocked but also feeling stupid for forgetting that it was not that long ago that she'd told him he could still be the adoptive father, if he wanted.

"Oh," she replied simply, not sure what else to say.

"I really appreciate you… trusting me so much, that you'd be willing to let me raise your child," he said. "I truly do," he added, trying to stress some appreciation for what Quinn had said about him. She remained silent. Her mind was already starting to drift off… wondering what would become of her baby. She hated her plan for her daughter to be so completely changed into… nothingness. She had this perfect life envisioned for the girl… and now it was all blank, back to square one. While she was contemplating all of this, he kept talking. "I just… I just feel like my life is falling apart right now. And I'd always planned on… on having a baby _with_ someone, you know? I…" he trailed off. Quinn barely heard him, and took a few extra seconds to fully comprehend what he'd just tried to explain to her.

"I understand, Mr. Schue. It's fine," Quinn finally replied stoically, not trying to be rude, but unable to be exactly happy about this. She hadn't realized just how desperately she'd been counting on the kind man to be the person raising her daughter… but she didn't want to make him feel bad about his decision.

"Are… are you okay?" Mr. Schue asked with concern, seemingly seeing through to some of the pain Quinn was trying so hard to conceal. "I can… I can help you find an adoption agency to work with," he offered. "Or whatever you want. I can help, that's all," he tried to tell her. Quinn was already starting to walk toward the door though.

"Thanks, I'll let you know," she said quickly, not really looking him in the eye, and she quickly stepped through the door and out into the hallway, where she finally took a deep intake of breath. She just had to get away from there… from him. She found herself heading toward the girls' bathroom, looking for a place to hide. She found an open stall and waited till the period between classes ended with the sound of the bell, and listened for the bathroom to clear out. As soon as it fell silent and she felt sure she was alone, she started crying.

Quinn let the emotion wash over her, sure her hormones being all out of whack were making everything just feel so much worse. She… she felt heartbroken, and she wasted the whole first five minutes of her English class just crying in that restroom stall.

* * *

History was her final real class of the day – after it, she simply had glee rehearsal, and as she left the classroom decorated with famous people from the centuries and maps all over the walls, she tried to remember the homework that the teacher was assigning at the last minute as the students all scurried out. When Quinn arrived at her locker, she got out a pencil and immediately wrote it down in her notebook before she forgot it. She was concentrating so hard on the page that she didn't even notice Rachel until she was standing _right_ beside her.

"Hey," the girl said, announcing her presence. Quinn looked up. "I know it's not my place, but have you had your doctor run the full genetic test panel on your unborn child?" Rachel was speaking so quickly. Quinn closed her notebook and put it down in her locker, not quite following whatever out-of-the-blue thing the girl was bringing up. She tried to catch up… genetic test panel seemed to be the key words. Rachel was talking to her about complicated, not to mention _personal_ medical decisions that really should only be between her and her doctor. Why couldn't the girl mind her own business? Rachel continued. "I only ask because my cousin Leon and his wife got pregnant, and then they found out that he was a carrier for Tay–Sachs."

"What's that?" Quinn couldn't help but ask. Despite however much she wanted to just ignore Rachel, she was growing concerned for her child and that made her begin to cling onto every word the girl said.

"It- It's a genetic disorder. Pretty terrible, from what I understand. If one of the parents is a carrier, then there's like a fifty percent chance that the child has it, or… something like that."

Quinn was starting to get pretty freaked out. She had not been thinking about her daughter having any horrible genetic disorders. What if no one wanted to adopt her baby because of something like this? Rachel must have noticed the distress in Quinn's face, because she started to try to reassure her, a little.

"No… Leon's- Leon's baby was fine. It was… it was still pretty scary though."

Quinn shut her locker and looked down toward the ground, thinking about her daughter. Worrying.

"My… doctor never mentioned… that." Quinn said quietly, speaking more to herself than to Rachel.

"You know- I'm such an idiot. They would only run the test if one of the parents was Jewish. Yeah, o- only Jews carry the gene." Rachel seemed to be apologizing for making Quinn worry for nothing. Quinn thought that Rachel had _no idea_ just how not "for nothing" it really was.

"Oh," Quinn replied, trying to force a relieved smile for Rachel's benefit.

"Okay; I'll see you in rehearsal!" Rachel cheerfully said goodbye and headed off to the choir room, leaving Quinn to just stand there by her locker, gaping a bit. What had just happened?

She took a few moments to collect her thoughts, and then realized she really should be following the brunette. This was their final rehearsal before Sectionals; a really important meeting. Still, Quinn couldn't focus on singing or dancing right away. She needed to find Puck.

Once she'd located the boy with the Mohawk, she looked over at her boyfriend. Finn was busy playing with a really old trophy. It must have been from thirty years ago when McKinley High's show choir had last gone to Sectionals to compete. She didn't have time to figure out what year the trophy was from or why Finn had his hands all over it, however. All she could focus on was that her boyfriend, luckily, was very distracted at the moment, so she could feel safe to have a conversation with Puck.

She walked up in front of where Puck was sitting, interrupting his conversation with Santana. Quinn's replacement as head cheerleader glared at Quinn, but Quinn barely had to make an effort to ignore her. She was so concerned about so many other things right now – her baby's health, Finn catching Quinn talking to his best friend for no good reason, what Puck's reaction might be to what she felt compelled to ask of him…

Puck looked intently into Quinn's eyes. He seemed to understand that she had something important to talk to him about, despite neither of them breathing a word. He glanced over towards Finn briefly, and Quinn looked down at the ground for a moment. Then they both silently got up and headed away from the risers and more toward one of the classroom doors. Puck paused and turned around to face Quinn again once it seemed like they were far enough away from everyone in the room, and especially far enough away from Finn, in order to not be overheard.

"You _have_ to take me to go get those… Jewish baby tests," Quinn finally explained to him.

"Why? Is that even a real thing?" Puck asked, confused.

"Because if something is wrong with the baby, Terri Schuester isn't gonna take it," she tried to reason. She was well aware that Terri Schuester would definitely not be taking her baby anymore, not with Mr. Schue not willing to help her or even take the baby on his own… but she didn't have time to explain the change in adopting parents to Puck right then and there before rehearsal. So she just used Terri's name when speaking with Puck for the time being. Regardless of who exactly might be adopting her, Quinn knew that if she was born with a serious birth defect, finding a good home for the baby might prove a great deal more challenging. "And I can't ask Finn," she added. "He'll know something's up."

"Does this have to happen tonight?" Puck asked. "Because I have my fight club."

Quinn couldn't even speculate about what exactly he might mean by that. He couldn't possibly be actually getting into fights with anyone on a regular basis… for sport. He never showed up at school with visible injuries and who would be dumb enough to participate in such a thing in the first place? Wasn't football a good enough method for teenage boys to express their aggression?

She was glad to have her musings on the subject cut short by Mr. Schue finally showing up. He arrived with the guidance counselor. Quinn and Puck headed back toward their seats.

"Well, I have found my replacement," Will announced to the club. "So give it up for Miss Pillsbury!"

Everyone clapped, but most of them did so halfheartedly. Quinn certainly wasn't thrilled to have Mr. Schue replaced, and some people, like Santana, had other, legitimate concerns.

"So… do you even know anything about music?" she asked of the timid redhead, showing her usual utter lack of respect for everyone, even teachers.

"Well…" Emma hesitantly started to answer, but Will started to speak overtop of her.

"What's important is that she cares about you guys every bit as much as I do. Now, I… I don't know what the future holds for me, and for us. But I know Saturday you're gonna make me proud. You guys are gonna be great." He seemed so sad. Everyone in the room was acting solemn. He finished his parting speech. "So… goodbye for now."

"Wait. What about our set list?" Mercedes asked. Will turned toward Emma for a moment before turning back to Mercedes in order to respond.

"I… I can't help you with that. You've… got to figure that out for yourselves." He looked almost near tears but threw a supportive smile towards all of the students just the same. He then lifted up a fist in… solidarity perhaps? as he started to depart. "Alright, guys."

Quinn felt so sad… in fact she possibly felt sadder now than she had felt earlier in the day when Mr. Schue had told her he didn't want to adopt her baby. The whole situation with Mr. Schue really no longer being their advisor for Sectionals was just heartbreaking, and finally it was feeling real. Sectionals was now only two days away; this was their final rehearsal.

With their sweet but awkwardly shy guidance counselor, Miss Pillsbury, just standing there quietly at the front of the room, the club began to brainstorm what exactly they should put in that set list that Mr. Schue himself said they should figure out for themselves. They decided on "Proud Mary" in wheelchairs and "Don't Stop Believin'" as group numbers without any difficulty. Artie and Finn had, respectively, suggested them as their strongest numbers, most likely to sway judges in their favor, and no one even bothered to suggest an alternative. Quinn remembered how happy she had been singing "Don't Stop Believin'" as a duet with Finn when Rachel had quit the club. She tried not to focus on the fact that unfortunately, when they sang it for sectionals, it'd be Rachel in the female lead. However jealous she might feel whenever Rachel and Finn sang with each other, she knew the boys were completely correct.

However, when it came to deciding on the ballad that would be sung, Mercedes and Rachel started to fight – not only over which song, but over who would sing it as well. Miss Pillsbury was forced to use her new position as club advisor to intervene.

"Okay, um… Rachel, why don't you let Mercedes give it a try?" Emma suggested.

"Thanks, Mrs. P.," Mercedes replied, before launching into a powerful solo performance of a song from the Broadway musical _Dreamgirls_. Quinn found herself truly impressed and thoroughly entertained. Quinn was also pleasantly surprised by Rachel, who, once the song was finished, said that she'd be willing to give up her own chance at the spotlight to let Mercedes sing it at Sectionals.

After glee rehearsal that day, everyone left the choir room in a great mood, feeling like maybe they could actually win at Sectionals on Saturday. Quinn hung back in the choir room and caught Puck's eye, wordlessly asking him to finish their conversation now, once all of the other kids were gone. She didn't even notice where Finn was going, nor that he left talking to Rachel. She figured she'd catch up to him soon enough, and now was a simply a lucky opportunity to really talk to Puck about him taking her to the doctor.

"Okay," Puck started the conversation, once everyone was out of earshot. "So… there is really some problem a baby can have, but only if it's Jewish? Isn't that, like, racist or something?" He scowled at her, acting a little offended.

"This isn't about our differences of religion!" Quinn replied in a somewhat exclaimed whisper, still worried about people potentially overhearing them. Her right hand started to instinctively gravitate toward the cross that was dangling right by her collarbone.

"I'm sorry," Puck said. "Where did you hear about 'Jewish baby tests' anyway, though?" he asked.

"Rachel!" Quinn replied, feeling sure that answer would convince him. He, however, raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Since when did you and Rachel get on speaking terms?" He smirked slightly, teasing her a bit. He was well aware of how much Quinn had always enjoyed bullying Rachel, and even though the girls were now both in the same club, Quinn didn't exactly hide her annoyance at almost every single thing the girl did. Of course Puck had not missed out on the animosity there.

"Well, she actually approached me about it. I… I guess she was concerned," Quinn answered slowly and quietly, her eyes darting every which way. She was avoiding Puck's line of sight, a little embarrassed to have been exposed as someone who had conversed with Rachel Berry. Puck let out a small chuckle, but then returned the conversation to its serious nature.

"Okay, so… so something might be wrong with our little girl?" He suddenly sounded… almost scared, and small, and not at all like his usual self. Quinn, however, couldn't help but be drawn to the fact that he had just referred to their unborn child as "our little girl" and feel a bit taken aback. Finn never spoke with quite that language. Everything… felt different here, with Puck. She was about to reply, when suddenly Finn's voice could be heard loudly and clearly from somewhere not too far outside the classroom.

"Puck? Puck?! PUCK?!" he was shouting. Quinn and Puck had already been looking at each other, and their eyes started to go wide in unison.

Before they had a chance to really comprehend what might be happening in the hallway, the clearly upset boy was already walking back into the classroom with a fierce look on his face. He took each step quickly, and with determination. Puck stepped in front of the mother of his child in a somewhat protective way.

"What...?" Quinn started to ask in a terrified but quiet tone.

"Finn?" Puck began at the same time, but Quinn already started to notice Finn's hand curling into a fist. He started to swing it up, and Quinn felt frozen, not sure how she could possibly stop what was about to transpire.

Her boyfriend's fist made swift contact with his best friend's face, and it actually knocked the unsuspecting boy to the ground. Finn didn't stop with just the one punch, however. Within seconds he was on top of Puck and continuing to attack him in what was clearly a blind rage, and Puck… Puck wasn't even fighting back! He was maybe groaning in pain a bit, but that was all.

Rachel arrived in the classroom, and then, within a minute or so, the entire glee club including their new advisor of Miss Pillsbury had made it back into the room as well. Everyone had not left very long ago, and so they must have still been in the hallway, and heard Finn's shouting and the commotion of Finn's assault on Puck, and come rushing toward the sound. Quinn couldn't tear her eyes away from Finn and Puck, so she only really saw everyone else arriving in her peripheral vision.

"Stop it! Boys, please! Stop!" Miss Pillsbury yelled in her own terrified and high-pitched way.

When Mr. Schue arrived, however, she really noticed it. This was because he shouted much more loudly, "Come on, come on! Get off him! Knock it off! Get off!" as he physically came into Quinn's line of sight and pulled Finn off of Puck, with the help of Matt and Mike.

"TELL THE TRUTH!" Finn bellowed.

"The punk just walked in and sucker punched me!" Puck explained, accusatorily, to everyone, especially Mr. Schuester.

"Don't play dumb; you're too freaking _dumb_ to play dumb!" Finn continued, still clearly in a fit of rage as he struggled to get free from Mike and Matt's hold on him. His eyes seemed permanently fixated on Puck.

"Hey! Come on," Will tried to reason with Finn, and get him to calm down. Quinn watched in horror, and realized based on the way Finn just attacked Puck… her boyfriend _must_ know the truth about the paternity of the baby now. Such a violent lashing out, such outrage… it couldn't have been caused by anything else. Also, those words Finn had just shouted… it all heavily implied that he… he somehow….

He knew.

"Who told you this, Finn?" Quinn asked, tearfully.

"Obviously, it was Rachel," Kurt helpfully provided.

"What? I didn't do anything," she said, defending herself.

"Yeah, it was Rachel," Finn replied, completely contradicting her. "But I want to hear it from you," he said to Quinn. Then looking back toward Puck for a moment, added, "I want to hear it from both of you." Quinn could see Finn's rage starting to take over again.

"Finn, just calm down!" Will ordered, raising his hand up protectively between Finn and the objects of his anger.

" _No!_ They're both _lying_ to me!" he roared.

Quinn let his _desperate_ plea to hear the truth, the truth he so clearly already knew, sink in. She looked up at him meaningfully, holding back tears.

"Is it true?" he asked. "Just tell me. Is it true?"

She slowly stepped forward toward him, and took a few deep breaths. It was so difficult to refrain from crying.

"Yes," she whispered. "Puck is the father," she finished, her voice a bit louder but breaking. Her lips quivered as she tried to hold it together, and she stared intently at Finn's eyes. He squinted and shook his head ever so slightly, as if in confusion, disbelief, or denial… or maybe some combination of all three. She barely moved her head as well as she nodded in silent reply, confirming that unfortunately, she was now, finally, telling the truth.

"But this…" Finn breathed, trailing off. He was clearly lost in his thoughts. He turned back to Quinn. "So all… all that stuff in the hot tub? What? You just made that up?"

"You were stupid enough to buy it!" Puck replied loudly. Quinn hated Puck in that moment, adding insult to injury in such an unnecessary way. Finn didn't need to feel any worse than he already did.

Finn started to retaliate physically once again, but Will stopped him with his hands before Finn had really even taken a step.

"I am so sorry," Quinn managed to get out in a very high pitched tone, laced with all of her tears that weren't quite falling yet.

"Screw this," Finn said. "I'm _done_ with you!" he shouted harshly, pointing directly at Quinn and leaving her with her mouth gaping open, truly feeling heartbroken. He let his hand fall back down to his side and he looked around at the entire room. Lifting up both of his hands now, he continued, "I'm done with… I'M DONE WITH ALL OF YOU!"

He kicked a chair violently and stormed out of the room, leaving everyone dumbfounded. Quinn still wanted to resist crying, because she felt if she really truly let the tears start falling, they might never stop. Also, she was standing in a room with ten other kids and two adults… and she didn't really feel up to sharing such intimate emotions with all of them.

She tried to keep breathing and turned back to look toward… Rachel. The girl who had… just ruined everything for her. Rachel. She had probably made up that stuff about Tay–Sachs disease earlier, just to get her own suspicions confirmed about Puck being the father before running off to tell Finn. She wanted Finn and Quinn broken up so that she could have him all to herself. Quinn… Quinn looked at the girl whose face somewhat surprisingly had marks of tears on it. Rachel seemed to be avoiding eye contact with Quinn, and Quinn really couldn't blame her. Still… despite all of these thoughts crossing her mind… she couldn't bring herself to feel true anger toward Rachel in that moment. She wasn't sure why… but she didn't really feel mad at her. She… she mainly felt numb right then and there. Rachel then caught Quinn's line of sight and peered right into the pregnant girl's eyes. Quinn hesitated for a few moments, staring back, not really thinking about anything, not sure what this stare was supposed to accomplish.

Before long, Quinn found herself silently leaving the classroom. She was leaving behind Rachel, Puck, the teachers… anyone who might have cared to stop her. She wasn't even sure if they tried to or not. Her mind was so far away. She left, looking for a place to sit… to be alone with her thoughts… to really let herself feel what had just happened with Finn.

She found a bench along the wall of the school hallway and gently placed herself upon it. She slowly placed her hands upon her blue dress, specifically the part that covered her pregnant abdomen. She sat there for a few minutes, finding exactly the solitude that she desired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I messed up AGAIN. I've only made a few minor continuity mistakes in all 19 chapters so far, but this is another time when I thought I knew enough to write a chapter, without realizing that as I kept watching more season 1, something would come up in a later scene that would mean I got something from earlier a little bit wrong. In these chapters, the relevant goof on my end is that… well… even though Will finds out Terri was lying this whole time in 1x12 "Mattress", apparently Quinn still believes Terri Schuester is going to take her baby in 1x13 "Sectionals" based on something she says to Puck – in the conversation about "those Jewish baby tests". Um… I tried to make it make sense that maybe Quinn would still say that to Puck despite no longer still believing the Schuesters will take it. But I am aware that it was probably not quite the best way to have done this, and smarter would have been to wait to have Quinn find out Terri Schuester was no longer going to be adopting the child until AFTER this scene. Oh well. I also never wrote a scene about Quinn telling Puck in the first place that they were going to be adopting the child. I should have, I now realize. I… I messed up. In multiple ways I guess. But above I tried my best to keep this true to the canon, even after I made a couple mistakes, and I will continue to try my best with all of the chapters & episodes to come. Oh and also in this Puck/Quinn conversation on the show about the Jewish baby tests, I was trying to be true to the canon in having Finn be playing with a trophy! Re-watch the scene and look at Finn – I really could not figure out what the shiny thing he was playing with in the background of the scene was, but my friend LauraFaiss on twitter totally helped me out and told me it was most likely a trophy.


	20. Homeless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a chapter about the next scene (less than 3 minutes) of episode 1x13 "Sectionals", plus some stuff I'm completely inventing that Quinn does after the scene, but before the bus ride Saturday morning to Sectionals. I think the whole glee rehearsal we saw - the rehearsal with Emma in charge for the first time and Mercedes showing off her ballad-singing skills - as well as afterwards the Finn/Puck fight and this scene that starts off the chapter, all those scenes with Quinn in her dark blue dress and white sweater – those scenes only make sense to have happened on Thursday (or earlier in the week), because Will says to them at the beginning of that rehearsal where Emma takes over, "I know Saturday you're gonna make me proud." If it was already Friday, wouldn't Will have said "tomorrow" lol? So… I think realistically there's a lot to cover that would have to happen in the over 24 hours before Sectionals but after Finn announced that he's done with her.
> 
> I tried my best to do that, and cover what might have happened, with this chapter. I really hope you all like it. ;)
> 
> I wanted to write more before posting this chapter, but seriously it took me ages to write this much. Actually I had written an entirely different ending to this chapter and then just deleted all of it and re-wrote it lol.

Quinn felt dead. She felt indifferent to the world around her. Sitting there, she desperately wished her baby might start kicking for the first time. She was sure a movement like that from within her body would make her feel more alive. But no, her baby wasn't at that stage yet and so Quinn just sat there, in a paradox where she was oh-so- _painfully_ aware of how dire her current situation was, and yet also in complete unfeeling denial. She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there before the girl in a blue checkered sweater arrived, standing right before her.

"I'm so sorry," Rachel said nervously. She lingered for a few more moments before continuing. "I fully understand if you want to beat me up."

Quinn remained still in her seat, but moved her eyes up toward the brunette girl.

Rachel added, "If you can, just try to avoid my nose." Then she squinted her eyes shut, prepared for some kind of physical attack.

"I'm not mad at you," Quinn whispered in reply.

Rachel opened her eyes again.

The blonde girl kept speaking. "All you did was what I wasn't brave enough to do: tell the truth."

"I… I was selfish when I told him," Rachel said, starting to sit herself down beside Quinn carefully, using her hands to keep her skirt in place. "I wanted to break you two up so he would want to be with me."

Quinn wasn't surprised at this news. But she did find some solace in the fact that Finn didn't immediately jump into Rachel's arms as soon as he had found out the truth. No. He was just… gone.

"And now neither of us have him," Quinn commented. She thought about how royally screwed up _everything_ now was. Finn had probably run home to his mother, and as soon as she found out the truth, Quinn knew Mrs. Hudson would feel completely and utterly betrayed. It pained her to think about yet _another_ person who didn't deserve it having to go through such heartache because of Quinn's lies. "I have hurt _so_ many people," she said softly, looking in a general upwards direction and thinking about how disappointed God must be at her at that very moment. She let her eyes drift back down as she kept thinking, and then she closed them for a moment before turning quickly towards Rachel. "Can you go now?" she then requested in a sharp tone.

Rachel nodded.

Quinn explained, "I just really want to be alone." As Rachel kindly stood up and gave her what she wanted, a single tear escaped from Quinn's eye; she couldn't prevent it from falling despite how hard she was trying.

Quinn took a deep breath and squinted her eyes shut, trying to keep her composure. She started to wipe away that tear that had dampened her cheek, and then she noticed Puck approaching. Of course he would be there, being all… sweet and caring. Worried about her. Acting just the way he had acted months ago when he'd come to her door with a backpack full of wine coolers, assuring her that she wasn't fat after he had noticed her crying in a movie theater parking lot. Oh how she regretted letting herself fall for his charm then. She wouldn't be in this awful mess if she had just… sent him away that fateful evening.

More recently, when she had taken Puck babysitting, she'd also found herself going all soft. She had really let herself believe that she and Puck could live happily ever after as a family raising their kid together. Yet she found herself feeling extremely disappointed only three days later. He would always be sexting other girls. He would always just complicate and confuse her already crazy life. She knew that now and therefore she was determined to refuse to let herself be swayed by anything Puck might now say.

"Hey," he greeted her casually as he started to take the seat that Rachel had vacated just moments prior. The air that surrounded them almost felt heavy. They were both aware that so much had just changed about their relationship, regardless of how they defined it. They were _barely_ friends… but they both _were_ , regardless of how much Quinn wanted to deny it, parents of the same baby. Everything was different now that Finn was no longer under the impression that he was the father. Now that everyone knew that Quinn had cheated on her quarterback boyfriend with his best friend. Not only the glee club… by tomorrow the entire school would know.

Quinn sniffled, still working on keeping it all together. Bracing herself for whatever he might say next.

"So… I know you're upset now. But I want to be with you, and I'm gonna do everything I can to be a good dad to our baby."

Quinn shook her head from side to side, not really even considering his offer. Not this time. Her eyes stared ahead into space, as she gathered up her thoughts just enough to give Puck the specific response he needed. "Thanks," she replied in a subdued tone, "but I honestly _can't_ … handle… _any more stress_ in my life right now." She looked at him, trying to drive her point home more clearly using eye contact.

He broke their gaze for a few seconds, letting it sink in. She was turning him down.

He was being so sweet, offering the world to her, and he clearly was hurt that she was just flat out refusing to take him up on any of it. "I'm gonna do this on my own," she elaborated. "I know you don't understand it, but _please_ respect it," she pleaded with him in a near whisper. She felt so emotionally drained, and she decided to stand up and leave the school.

Slowly but surely she dragged herself away from the not-so-comforting cold, hard, wooden bench. Sitting on it alone with her thoughts had accomplished absolutely nothing, and neither had Rachel and Puck coming to join her. She silently left Puck there, and walked through the now completely empty hallway toward the exit, not sure where the best place to go would be. It was only Thursday… which meant there was another school day tomorrow. She had homework she had to do that night. The next day at school, she'd undoubtedly run into at least some, if not all, of the other glee club members. They would blame her if Finn really abandoned them all. They wouldn't be able to perform at Sectionals without all twelve of them there. And Saturday… she wasn't sure if she was hoping to perform at Sectionals or not. Neither scenario was going to be close to ideal anymore. Sectionals had been such an exciting concept only an hour ago, but that was when she was expecting to share in it with Finn, his mom proudly cheering _both_ of them on. She'd been excited to sing and dance dressed exactly the same as eleven of her fellow show choir members, but that was when the rest of the glee club treated her as a friend. She couldn't even count on that anymore. She felt so alone. A few more tears streamed down her face.

She stopped at her locker, put on her coat, and made sure to take her purse and homework with her. She left the school and headed toward her car, realizing as she stepped outside that she should have worn some tights or pantyhose or something – her legs were freezing because her coat didn't reach far enough down. Her tears were also freezing to her face, and she realized the temperature outside most likely was below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Decembers in Ohio could vary a lot, but this seemed like it was gonna be a cold one. She got in her car and without even thinking about it at all, started driving home on autopilot.

Home. She thought the word by accident. She'd always known better than to start thinking of the Hudson's household as her home. She knew this day would come - the day when she would no longer be welcome there. She stood still, letting the harsh temperature of late autumn chill her down to the bone as the unfortunate realization sank in. She was now homeless. It wasn't like Carole had kicked her out officially yet, but Quinn almost laughed at herself when she thought about how much she'd be "overstaying her welcome" if she slept there even just one more night.

She almost braked her car in the middle of the street, but decided to just keep going. Her stuff was all there at that house. Her clothes for the next day, some of her school textbooks, little things like her alarm clock… she needed to retrieve it all. She didn't want to go there, not if Finn might be there… not if she'd have to face either of the two people she'd lied to and betrayed after all they had ever done was show her kindness. But she had to go there sometime. She figured she might as well get it over with.

She pulled up into the driveway and only saw Finn's car there. Carole wasn't home yet. She willed herself to do what she had to do and face her boyfriend. Well. Ex-boyfriend, now. He had been _so_ angry only about an hour ago. That kind of rage didn't disappear that quickly. She braced herself as she walked up to the door. While she had gotten used to just letting herself in, she now thought the only reasonable course of action would be to knock.

She hit her knuckles against the door three times. She tried not to be too harsh or loud about it. She then waited, but no one seemed to be answering, so she stood there, trying to decide how patient to be as the cold wind nipped at her legs. She gave up on being patient and lifted her fist to knock again when finally the door opened and she was standing face to face with Finn, her hand still awkwardly poised in the air. Finn started to shut the door in her face as soon as he realized who she was, but she stopped him.

"Wait!" she said as she pushed on the door a bit to try to physically prevent him from slamming the door in her face.

Finn signed, losing his resolve. He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

"Um… I had been living here."

"Yeah." Finn voice was cold as ice. "So?"

"I… I just need to get my stuff and actually move out." She tried to stay strong and determined, but as she said it she wavered a bit, her nervousness showing through ever so slightly.

Finn looked down at her and squinted a bit. She figured he was thinking about his options. Calculating whether or not it'd be worth it to let her in now. After a long pause, he decided to allow her to gather her things.

"Fine."

The corners of her mouth started to curl into an appreciative smile for about half a second before she gave up on that motion. She walked in, passing by Finn and heading upstairs to her bedroom, ready to turn it back into the guest room of the house.

She couldn't quite fit all of her clothes into her suitcase – she had bought more when she'd gone shopping with Carole and the suitcase wasn't all that large. She packed up everything she could, including the odds and ends she'd been storing in the upstairs hallway bathroom, and then she hesitantly headed downstairs to find a shopping bag or two. She needed some way to get the rest of her clothes out of the house.

Finn was waiting downstairs and watched her as she proceeded down the staircase.

"I… just…" she started to say, and then she gestured toward the corner of their kitchen where the recycling was set up.

He silently observed her as she found what she was looking for in the cardboard and paper section. She found a neatly folded up large bag from a clothing shopping excursion and opened it, looking inside to make sure it was clean enough and would work. She tried to ignore the extreme awkwardness of Finn just standing there, staring, as she did all this. Both of them were not saying a word.

She returned upstairs and finished packing. She remembered Finn kindly helping her carry her suitcase down the stairs in her parents' house, then up these stairs. She had to do it all herself this time, she realized. It'd be pretty heavy. But she knew she could handle it. She could handle all of this. Whatever was to come. She would get through it, perhaps not gracefully, but she would.

She hoisted the suitcase up and carefully treaded down towards the front door of the house. Glancing at Finn for a moment, she thought she saw his face betray some emotion. Maybe he felt guilty for not helping. She returned back upstairs to retrieve the paper shopping bag and looked around, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

Once she was finally ready to leave the house for the final time, she looked at Finn meaningfully. One last wordless goodbye. She couldn't help herself. She wanted to apologize for everything, thank him even for what he had done for her. All she could muster up was a simple stare, though. Finn, on the other hand, did have something to say.

"Where are you gonna go?" he asked softly, sincere concern briefly breaking through his cold, harsh mask. He seemed to actually want to make sure she'd be okay.

She broke his gaze, looking down at the ground. She didn't answer him, because she honestly did not know where she would go.

"Nevermind. It's not my problem now," he said, pretending once again to be completely indifferent. Quinn knew better. She knew Finn was too good of a guy to truly not care.

"Goodbye," she said quietly, the bittersweet word making everything feel so much more real as soon as it escaped her lips. She grasped the doorknob and pulled, wishing the outdoors would somehow feel comforting. She wanted to be reassured that everything would be fine, but as she stepped toward her car the chilly weather only made her feel terrified, like a small little girl who had been spoiled and sheltered her whole life, but now was suddenly being engulfed by the harsh real world.


	21. Food and Shelter

Driving away from Finn's house, Quinn had no real destination in mind. She considered, as a plan for when night fell, simply finding a place to park and sleeping in her car. She thought about what else she needed to do today, _before_ that time came. She needed to do her homework and… and eat dinner. She realized she had barely enough money with her for a day or two worth of meals and then she'd be screwed. She wanted to stay on a healthy diet of three meals a day for her unborn child's sake, but here she was - jobless and alone. She decided, for now, to stay in denial about how the whole "food" issue would be one she'd have to deal with sooner rather than later, and instead of coming up with a solution, she headed toward the public library. She glanced at the digital clock in the car. It was still only 4:00 pm. She was pretty sure the library in Lima would be open until at least six on a weekday.

When she got there, she had to dig through the trunk to get to her textbooks, pencils, and paper. She'd packed away a few vital items underneath her clothing and it was a hassle getting to the bottom of her suitcase. She hoped no one she knew was around. Lima was a frustratingly small town at times, and she didn't want to run into her classmates, or her parents, or anyone at all. She wanted to be a nobody who no one would even give a passing thought. She headed inside with her school stuff and tried her hardest to focus on all of it. After about an hour, she was almost finished and her stomach had started to make those little growling noises. She was a little paranoid that since the library was so quiet, other people might be able to hear them. She (and her baby) hadn't eaten for a whole six hours, plus she was used to eating a snack after school.

Finishing her homework at a table in the library, thankfully not once being disturbed and not recognizing a soul, she put her papers back in the appropriate folders and tried to come up with a plan for what to do next. A part of her wished she had mountains of homework so she could just keep herself busy for longer. She didn't want to be doing nothing, alone, for the rest of the evening, possibly just sitting awkwardly in her car. She hated the idea of living in her car for the entire foreseeable future. She could maybe do it for one night, but as a long-term plan… this wasn't going to work for her. She reached down into her purse and found her cell phone. Scrolling to the contacts list, she considered her options in alphabetical order.

Artie. Hmm. She considered him for a good minute. She had actually met his parents, briefly. They were nice people, but she had no idea if they knew she was pregnant or not – she hadn't really been showing yet that time she'd been at their house. Quinn knew her own father had had no idea about what her situation was at that point. If Artie hadn't mentioned it to them… they wouldn't know. Working on ballads with him had not been so bad, and she certainly found his house pleasant enough. By the end of their teamwork activities, they maybe had started to consider each other real friends. But she knew deep down that Artie was a silly option. She barely knew the boy. They weren't close enough of friends. Asking this huge favor of him would clearly be inappropriate. She only had gotten his phone number for that ballad assignment for glee, and it had been the only time she'd ever used it. Mentally she crossed Artie off her list.

Brittany was next. When Quinn had been captain of the Cheerios, she'd gotten all of the fellow cheerleaders' numbers and added them into her contacts. Brittany was actually still in her life now, unlike most of the rest of them. Quinn and Brittany had never really had real conversations - not at cheerleading practice, nor in glee club. Sure, Coach Sylvester had grouped Santana, Quinn, and Brittany together as her three best cheerleaders, impressed by their gymnastic skills, and so Quinn had found herself around Brittany quite often. But Quinn would have never actually called Brittany her "friend". Quinn realized now, however, that Brittany might. The girl had many unusual qualities about her, and one was that seemed to think she was close friends with people who were barely her acquaintances. If Quinn wanted to suddenly become her best friend in the world, and crash at her house, it might be possible. Quinn wasn't sure where Brittany lived, nor what her parents might be like. But she didn't want to eliminate Brittany as a solution quite yet.

Carole was still in her phone, and Quinn knew she should probably delete the woman from it. But she couldn't bring herself to. Just like she didn't want to delete the woman's son, who was just a few down. She also still had her parents' numbers in there. These people were all too important to her. Erasing them would feel wrong. She still had hope they might call her or text her at some point, for some reason. She scrolled away from her, "Dad", and "Finn", and landed on her sister's name.

Gabrielle. Gabi was certainly an option. On Thanksgiving, their conversation had made Quinn so happy, and seeing her in person for the first time since then was very tempting. But she lived hours away with her husband in a small house. If she decided to go there, she'd have to officially change schools. Give up Glee club. And go through an entirely new student body whispering and staring as they realized, slowly but surely, that this new girl was also a pregnant girl. The thought alone terrified her.

Grandma. This was actually the home phone number to where both of Quinn's maternal grandparents lived, but she'd only written down "Grandma" as the "contact name". She loved her grandparents. It was getting close to Christmas, so her grandmother would probably any day now be preparing to make all sorts of gingerbread men cookies and her grandfather had probably already adorned the house with holly and poinsettias. She had such fond memories of their house, and now that their only child, Judy, was a grown woman, her bedroom was vacant and would be a delightful place to crash. But like Gabrielle, they lived a bit too far away for it to be practical. She'd have to change schools. Plus, she had no idea if they had heard the news that she was pregnant, nor what their reaction would be. They were old people, and generally pretty traditional. They might be just as bad as her own father. They weren't really an option.

Neither were her other grandparents, who had a huge house which is what made it ideal for family holiday get-togethers. They had plenty of spare bedrooms. But she didn't even have their phone number in her phone, and besides, they were the people who raised a man who would kick out his own daughter for being pregnant. She was sure they had instilled that type of "Christian value" into him themselves.

There were some cheerleaders in her contact list who Quinn barely knew – Hannah, Katie, Marilyn, etc. Most of them had also been in celibacy club too, and so she'd wanted their numbers in case she was going to be texting everyone about a new meeting. But she… she didn't really feel close with any of them. One by one, she skipped through them. After a bunch, she landed on…

Rachel. Of all people, Quinn knew the average person who might be looking through her phone would be surprised to find this girl in here. In Quinn's mind, she was usually not "Rachel" but rather "the annoying Berry girl". This was the person who had mere hours ago caused her current predicament by revealing the truth to Finn. This brunette was certainly not someone she'd consider a friend. There were so many issues Quinn had with Rachel, and the only reason she was in her phone was glee. Rachel had insisted upon getting everyone else's number so that she could call impromptu meetings such as the recent one where she'd announced that the club had been booked for the mattress commercial. Quinn wanted to just move on from Rachel, but she was nearing the end of the alphabet, and the bottom of her list. She knew her options were running out, and so she let herself really consider Rachel for a moment. Quinn knew that Rachel felt guilty for what she'd done. Rachel would probably be willing to let her crash there, and with two gay dads, she had more faith that they'd be cool with the whole teenage pregnancy thing. She had no clue what to think about Artie's or Brittany's parents.

She wished she'd had more people's numbers in her phone. She was down to the final two people.

Santana. Her "best friend", sort of. But Quinn knew deep down that the bitchy Latina was not the correct choice when running to someone's house for comfort. Especially not after Santana's whole "keep your paws off my man" speech – now that Santana knew that "her man", Puck, had actually slept with Quinn… Quinn didn't want to come into any sort of contact with Santana Lopez any time soon. That replacement head cheerleader truly frightened Quinn.

So she was down to the very last number in her phone. The last person, alphabetically, was…

Terri. The crazy woman who had begged for her child, but refused to help her out with any bills… but who Quinn still kind of trusted to be a good mom. She couldn't quite describe it… but even with the way Terri treated Quinn at times, Quinn felt some motherly kindness emanating from her. And Terri was Will Schuester's wife. If he had picked her to marry, how bad could she be?

Quinn thought over her options. Artie and Brittany would be too weird and she didn't even know if she could trust their parents to help her. Begging Rachel for help was maybe her best option, despite how weird in its own way it'd be. But she… she didn't think she could stand staying in the same house as Rachel. It'd be her back-up plan. But for now…

Quinn found herself driving toward Terri Schuester's apartment, hoping to be allowed to crash on the couch she had actually sat on multiple times. She would feel more uncomfortable going to a house she'd never seen before, meeting Rachel's dads for the first time, and asking Rachel to overlook the awful things Quinn had drawn in the bathroom stalls. So she headed towards the place she knew she'd feel more comfortable at. A home she'd been inside before, where both of the people in the household already knew of her predicament. The worst that could happen would be that Mrs. Schuester would refuse her request, and Quinn could go from there if that happened.

Before she knew it, she was knocking tentatively on the Schuesters' door, hoping someone was home. Quinn wanted it to be Terri, with Will preferably gone and still sleeping elsewhere, like when he'd slept at school. She was afraid that Mr. Schuester would not be able to be kind to her anymore, not after his wife had lied to him and broken his heart and then he was there to witness Finn's heart breaking in a somewhat similar way over a somewhat similar lie.

When the door opened, though, she found herself face to face with the man.

"Quinn?" he asked, a surprising amount of concern and kindness in his tone. He also looked a little confused at her showing up at his doorstep.

"Hi," she replied softly, glancing down toward her feet a few times, finding it hard to maintain eye contact with him. "I was wondering if Mrs. Schuester was… around," she mumbled.

"Oh, Terri? She's… staying at her sister's for the time being," he informed her.

Quinn nodded.

"I'm sorry she's not here. Is there something… that maybe I could do for you?" He shot her a warm smile. "Why don't you come in for a second?" He stepped back and to the side, then gestured toward his living room.

"Um." Quinn gulped. She didn't really want to come in. It would be too awkward to already be inside when she asked what she was about to ask.

"Quinn?" He stepped back to his previous position in the doorframe. "You don't _have_ to come in, I was only trying to be nice…" he trailed off awkwardly, sounding so unsure of what to say or do.

"I know you'll probably say no, and that's fine," Quinn said, mustering up her courage as she started speaking. "I have other options," she added, trying to convince herself as much as him. "But um… could I maybe sleep here tonight?" She looked up at him, waiting for his response, hoping she wasn't revealing just how desperate she was through her eyes.

The teacher raised his eyebrows, clearly taken aback. He didn't say anything for a few moments.

"It's okay. Nevermind," Quinn said. She looked away from him and started to take a step back toward the exit of the building.

"No, Quinn, wait," he said, stopping her. He looked at her with a lot of sympathy, and she was grateful that he wasn't acting like she was the coldhearted bitch she felt like. "Sure. If you want to sleep on the couch tonight, that's fine. Come on in."

She couldn't quite believe he was saying 'yes'. She took a few seconds to let it sink in. So she had a place to sleep, at least for this one night.

"Thank you," she whispered, tears threatening to fall because she still felt so grateful. "Could I… get my bag first?" she asked, thinking about how she needed pajamas to sleep in and her toothbrush and clothes for school the next day.

"Of course."

* * *

Will actually invited her to eat dinner with him, and Quinn suspected he didn't mind having the company. It looked like he would have been eating his frozen dinner alone if she hadn't shown up, and she thought that seemed like such a sad way to live. He apologized for not being a cook, but she assured him she did not mind one bit. The frozen dinner sounded great.

They didn't talk much as they ate, but somehow it wasn't too awkward. They just… felt comfortable around each other. She knew now she could truly trust Mr. Schue to really take care of her, like a father figure, if she ever needed him. It was very comforting.

After the meal, Will found a set of sheets for the couch, and he told Quinn she could watch TV in the living room and of course she was free to just go into the bathroom whenever and if she wanted to, use the shower. Then he disappeared into his bedroom to watch something on his own television. And Quinn couldn't help but feel a strong sense of loneliness once again.

She did take advantage of the shower. Then she changed into a nightgown and crawled under the covers on the couch. She didn't feel like watching TV. She didn't feel like doing anything. She thought about her crazy day. In the morning, she'd found out Will didn't want her baby, and then had cried her eyes out alone in the girls' bathroom at school. Only six or so hours ago, she had still been with Finn, and everything was fine. The events that had transpired after all of that had been even more excruciating than her worst nightmare, and so here she was, exhausted and going to sleep before the clock even struck 10:00 pm. However she decided, right before closing her eyes for the night, that she needed to pray. She didn't mind doing it while already lying down, silently talking in her head to God. She knew God would hear her. She asked him to please help her get through this. To make the next day at school bearable. To help her find a more long-term solution to her homelessness. To let everything work out with her baby, Sectionals this weekend, and the rest of her life to come. To conclude her prayer, she thanked God for loving her despite all of her sins. Then, she let herself drift off, hoping her dreams might be more pleasant than her reality.


	22. Puck's Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason this chapter below was a very difficult chapter for me to write. I was struggling to decide where I wanted my story to go and once I decided, also struggling on how to best write it. It ended up being a longer chapter too which made it take longer to write. I hope you all like it though! ;)
> 
> Also, I know Puck's sister is fairly often named Sarah in fanfictions but on the show she is officially unnamed. So I'm naming her Abigail and I'm naming their mother Miriam. I hope no one minds. ;) Both are traditional Jewish names.
> 
> I tried my best with this chapter. Again it's not based on real scenes from the show. It's in the middle of episode 1x13 "Sectionals" still – this chapter was almost called "Friday" – it is all about that one day. The actual Glee performance will be the next day, the Saturday, and those real scenes will be written about in chapter 23.

Quinn woke up naturally on Mr. Schue's couch, needing a few moments to adjust to her unfamiliar surroundings and remember where she was. Once she did, she sat up and turned around to look towards the kitchen where she could hear her teacher moving around. She smelled bacon cooking, and it reminded her of home – of her mom. Carole and Finn had always just eaten cold cereal for breakfast, and so she of course did the same, but being here in this apartment was bringing back memories of Judy Fabray making hearty meals to start off the day.

She looked at the clock, and noticed that it was only 6:00 am. She didn't actually have to wake up quite this early, especially since she'd showered the night before. She had set her alarm for 6:45. She found the controls and turned it off, since clearly she would not be needing it anymore.

Quinn stood up and started to tread quietly towards the kitchen, glancing down at her nightgown and feeling very awkward. She didn't make enough noise for Will to even realize she was awake, so once she was at the doorframe she needed to verbally announce her presence.

"Hi," she said softly, just barely louder than a whisper.

He turned around. "Oh, hi, Quinn. You're up. I hope I didn't wake you?"

"No," she honestly answered. "I fell asleep early, so I just woke up from being well-rested, I think." She smiled, hoping to fully convey her appreciation of being given the couch on which to crash. She didn't think sleeping in her car would have provided quite the same effect.

"Oh, that's great," he replied.

She walked a few steps deeper into the kitchen.

"I thought I'd make myself some scrambled eggs," Will explained, stating the obvious as he gestured toward his frying pan that was sizzling atop the stove. "Would you like some?" he said.

"Sure," Quinn said. "I can smell the bacon too," she commented with a hinting tone and a smirk.

"Oh yes, and I have plenty of bacon as well, if you want some."

"That would be amazing," she said, still smiling. She walked over to the fridge and opened it, hoping he wouldn't mind. She looked around for a few moments before finding what she was looking for.

"Mr. Schue?"

"Yes?"

"Could I pour myself a little of your orange juice?"

"Oh yeah. Of course. There are glasses in the cabinet to your right."

"Thanks."

She helped herself to the drink, waiting for the food to finish frying. She pulled out a chair carefully and stared at her teacher's back – he was still wearing his pajamas. A loose-fitting grey t-shirt and some flannel, checkered pants. She had never seen him in this type of garb before.

"By the way," Will said, starting up a new conversation. "Terri might come back tonight or tomorrow morning, and I was going to, you know…"

Quinn waited patiently for him to continue. She wasn't sure if something about the process of cooking their breakfast was distracting him, or if it was simply difficult to talk about his marital issues with his student. Probably some combination of both, Quinn surmised.

"…I was gonna make myself scarce," he finally concluded. "I'm not sure I want to face her quite yet," he admitted.

"Okay," Quinn replied, unsure of what this meant for her. She knew she had only requested to sleep there for one night, and that night was over. She still had kind of been hoping to be allowed another day or two to sort her life out. She was already feeling quite comfortable here in the Schuesters' apartment.

"You can sleep here again tonight, if you want. Terri…" he trailed off again, and Quinn heard him sigh.

She could only guess at some of what might be going through his head right then. She felt awful about helping his wife lie to him for so long. She felt so guilty.

"Terri has no right to kick you out of here, after I already said you were welcome," he stated as matter-of-factly as he could. She thought she heard something in his voice – restraint, perhaps? She didn't linger on it.

"Thanks, Mr. Schue," she replied. She was sincerely relieved that he was extending his offer of a place for her to sleep. Being allowed another night here would certainly be helpful.

* * *

After sharing a nice meal together, Quinn and Will only took a few minutes to finish getting dressed and ready, and then they headed off in their separate cars toward the school. Will was a teacher and therefore always came in early, just in case anyone wanted to discuss something with him before class. Quinn had nothing better to do, plus felt weird about the idea of being left alone in his home, so she decided to leave at the same time as him.

When Quinn first entered the hallway, she immediately felt hypervigilant. She was afraid that maybe the whole school now knew that she was a liar and a cheater, and she was also very nervous that she might run into the members of the glee club, or maybe some of Finn's other friends from the football team. She looked around and it was early enough that the halls were close to empty. The few students and teachers who were there seemed to have their own agendas and weren't paying the blond pregnant girl any attention.

She proceeded to her locker and got out what she'd need for the first portion of the day, taking her time since she had an entire hour to kill. Then she started walking toward her homeroom. Puck was actually in the same homeroom class as her, but luckily he sat on the other side of the room. Plus he was Puck, so of course he always got in barely on time for the bell – or in many cases, he was marked "tardy". She knew she didn't have to be concerned about him confronting her in the unusually lengthy amount of free time she had before class this particular Friday morning.

The other students in the class, the ones who might actually get in early, were more likely to be a problem. People she barely knew could give her judgmental stares. Tina Cohen-Chang was also in this homeroom class, and while Tina had never been even _close_ to mean to her, she had no idea how Tina might react to Quinn ruining Sectionals for the whole club. Tina also might be particularly offended at finding out about Quinn's transgressions. That's the thing that scared Quinn the most: the "not-knowing" how everyone might react.

Jacob Ben Israel, nerd that he was, was the first student to join her in the room, "ridiculously early" being his _normal_ schedule for school. Quinn wouldn't be surprised if school was his favorite thing in the world. When he entered, he didn't even seem to notice Quinn - a fact which she was grateful for. He was the person who had first announced to the world, via the school paper, that she was pregnant. She kind of hated him, but at the same time he never seemed directly mean to her. He was more just… not quite understanding of what her situation really meant, or how hard it was for her. She thought of him as selfish and thoughtless, but more annoying than anything. He wasn't a bully, just a frustratingly successful gossip. He always seemed to find out people's secrets and successfully publicize them to whoever might care via his blog. Still… she didn't really fear him at the moment. She had nothing to lose, no secrets left for him to possibly expose. She was sure the whole "Finn's not the father- Puck is" scandal would circulate regardless of what this boy with a Jewfro did or did not do.

He sat down at his desk and pulled out his pencil box, which Quinn had not realized anyone in high school actually carried around – one of those obnoxious and large, brightly colored plastic things. He pulled out two pencils and two pens, and then proceeded to line them up on his desk in a way that made Quinn speculate as to whether the boy might actually have diagnosable OCD.

After a few more minutes, some additional students started arriving. The only two other people in this class who she'd truly care about were Tina or Puck, but none of the students trickling in were them. A couple of them looked at Quinn awkwardly, but only ever so briefly. Most of them didn't even notice Quinn, and she found herself wishing she had a book to read, or had brought her iPod with her to listen to, or had homework to finish at the last second. She was quite bored as she waited, but she continued her people-watching until fifteen minutes before the bell.

That was when Noah Puckerman surprised her by arriving quite early to class. He walked in, immediately making eye contact with her. It was clear he was seeking her out, but once he found her (with minimal effort, as there were only about fifteen other kids in the classroom) he proceeded toward her sheepishly, reminding her of how he'd looked when he'd sat himself down beside her the previous afternoon. He took a seat at one of the still temporarily vacant desks that were in the row next to her.

She looked at him, waiting for him to speak since clearly he had arrived with something to say. In fact, Quinn ventured it would not be very presumptuous to assume he'd come into school early for this very purpose.

"Hi," he said quietly.

"Hi…" Quinn replied, dragging out the syllable. She had no clue why he was talking to her at all. She had, less than twenty four hours ago, given him the "I'm gonna do this own my own" speech. He was supposed to just leave her be!

"I… I decided to tell my mom last night," he explained. Quinn's eyes widened. She had not been expecting that at all.

"About… me?" she clarified, careful never to utter the actual "p"-word while within the walls of McKinley.

He nodded. "Yeah, and while of course she's a _little_ disappointed in me for not wearing a… you know," he whispered. His face told a slightly different story. Quinn guessed his mom had been furious with him.

She nodded as she leaned in closer to him, afraid of people overhearing even that much.

"She's actually pretty cool about it. It only took her like an hour to get used to the idea. Then… she confronted me. She… she insisted that I make sure you were okay, had a place to live and all that. Since I kind of mentioned that your parents…" he trailed off. "She said I should be helping you figure out details about the adoption. She asked me a lot of questions and I realized I didn't have answers to most of them. I don't even have your phone number. My mom thinks, since I'm the…" he hesitated, still whispering, but then got even quieter, "since I'm the father, you should at least be able to contact me if you want to."

Quinn wasn't sure how to respond to all of that. She was still processing when the girl whose desk Puck was currently borrowing arrived and awkwardly started standing right next to it. Quinn looked up at the girl, causing Puck to also notice her.

"Oh, sorry," he said, freeing it up for her. He walked only a few steps until he was right in front of Quinn, then leaned over a little so he and Quinn could maybe finish their conversation.

The teacher then walked in and Quinn glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only two minutes until the start of class. And she wasn't really sure what to do or say yet anyway.

"How about we talk at lunch?" Quinn suggested.

Puck smiled. "That sounds fine." He headed over to his own desk.

Before long, class was started. Quinn noticed Tina had arrived at some point during her conversation with Puck. Quinn made an effort to avoid eye contact with her throughout the teacher's lecture. It wasn't very difficult when she instead focused all of her efforts on taking notes.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the period, Quinn gathered up her books. As soon as she made it to the doorframe of the classroom, she noticed Rachel speed-walking down the hallway. Jacob, who also was leaving the classroom around the same time as Quinn, paused and got in Quinn's way in order to just stare after Rachel longingly. Quinn noticed that Rachel seemed to be headed towards Miss Pillsbury's office.

* * *

It was a fairly typical school day. Sure, second period had meant Kurt staring at her for almost an entire hour. Quinn saw mainly disappointment on his face, mixed with a little bit of anger and blame – she knew how much glee club meant to him and she was pretty sure the disappointment was entirely because they were going to have to forfeit Sectionals. She was pretty sure Finn had meant it when he'd said he was done with "all of them" the previous afternoon. When Quinn went to her locker between second and third period, she noticed at the other end of the hall that Santana seemed to be having a heated fight with Puck – most likely inspired by recent revelations. Quinn wasn't sure who had known he was the father before Finn knew. It had seemed like a lot of them had, but she couldn't be sure exactly how many. On her way to lunch, she even saw Finn – the person who she had been most hoping to avoid. They only shared an awkward moment of eye contact, nothing more, though, for which Quinn was grateful. She didn't have time to read much into how Finn looked. Sad? Angry? Indifferent? She had put all of her effort into looking away as soon as possible from the moment their gazes had met.

At lunch, after she finished paying for her tray of food, she found an empty table and waited for Puck, assuming he'd find her. Sure enough, about a minute later, he sat down beside her. Quinn was grateful that no one else was nearby. Being at an otherwise empty table meant no one was there to overhear whatever they might say.

"Before we eat," Quinn started to suggest, "would you like to exchange phone numbers?" She didn't see herself as calling Puck very often, but now that she'd lost Finn, having this guy a finger's dial away, just in case, actually made a lot of sense.

Puck nodded and pulled his cell out of his back pocket. Quinn reached into her purse. They completed the exchange, and then Quinn ate a few bites of her meal. It was the gross school pizza today, and maybe there had been a healthier option but she'd been too distracted to even notice. She had been focusing on the fact that she was about to have a conversation with Puck, not on what to eat for lunch.

"So… you were living with Finn, right?" Puck asked nervously.

"I was."

"But not anymore?"

Quinn chuckled mirthlessly.

"You were _there_ yesterday," she commented. "Do you really think I'd still be welcome?"

Puck let his eyes fall toward his tray.

"So... did you move out?" Puck asked.

"I did." Quinn didn't really want to tell him the truth of what had happened the previous evening, but she didn't see a way out of it. She took another bite of her pizza, then dove into the details.

"I would just move in with my sister, but she lives so far away… and so I wasn't really sure where to go. I went to the library… you know, the public one, and did my homework. Then I ended up… well I went to the Schuesters' apartment, actually." She felt so embarrassed, admitting she had no friends to turn to.

"Oh," he replied casually, trying (and almost succeeding) to hide his surprise at that being where she ended up.

"You know how Terri Schuester was um… pretending to be pregnant, and was going to adopt our baby and she and Mr. Schue would raise her?"

He nodded. She had filled him in on everything the night they were babysitting for Terri's sister.

"Well, Mr. Schue found out – _that_ was why he slept on the mattress here at school and got disqualified from Sectionals in the first place."

"Oh," Puck said, and Quinn could see in his eyes the light bulb going off, the puzzle pieces finally fitting together just right.

"So um… they're not gonna be adopting our baby anymore. Mr. Schue and his wife are… having problems. Terri was sleeping at her sister's house last night."

"So you slept at Mr. Schue's?"

"Yeah. On his couch. And we ate breakfast together this morning," she added, avoiding eye contact with Puck. She was pretty embarrassed about the whole situation.

When she looked up, she noticed Puck seemed to be busy eating, but also thinking through something as he chewed. He swallowed.

"So you don't have a permanent living solution." He stated it matter-of-factly, knowing he was right.

Quinn nodded. She took a sip of her half-pint carton of milk.

"You should move in with me and my family," Puck said.

Quinn looked at him. He was dead serious with his offer, and possibly even hopeful that she'd say yes. She thought about it. It would truly be helpful. She needed this as a solution. As much as moving in with Puck terrified her, and as much as she wished she didn't need this unreliable sometimes jerk of a guy, she found herself looking back into his eyes and smiling a little in appreciation.

"Are you sure that'd be okay with your mom?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure. After the way she was last night, I think she actually wants it."

"Okay."

They ate the rest of their lunches. Time was almost up and they'd have to return to their separate classes.

"My little sister lives in my house too, you know."

"Oh," Quinn replied.

"Abby's annoying sometimes but hopefully she will just stay out of your way."

"How old is she?"

"She just turned eleven. She's four-and-a-half years younger than me and 5 grades behind me… she's still in elementary school."

"How would _she_ feel about me moving in?"

"I have no idea."

Quinn raised her eyebrows. She wished Puck would have a better answer than that for her. She wasn't sure how an 11-year-old _should_ react to her older brother's pregnant girlfriend… scratch that, pregnant _friend_ moving in to her house.

People started to get up to throw away their trash and return their trays. Quinn and Puck decided they should too.

"When should I come over to move in?" Quinn asked as they walked with their trays toward the trashcans.

"I'll go straight home after school," he answered. "You can follow me in your car if you want."

Quinn nodded and they left their trays behind.

"Oh, but wait," she said once she realized that wouldn't quite work for her. "My stuff is all at Mr. Schue's still." She was grateful the commotion of students made it so no one besides Puck would be able to hear what she was saying.

"Oh. How about I follow you there and then you follow me home."

"Sounds like a plan." They smiled at each other, both a little nervous but also both happy with this solution.

* * *

The rest of the school day passed by excruciatingly slowly. Quinn couldn't stop worrying about people gossiping or staring. She felt like everyone was judging her. In her last period of the day, even the teacher was looking at her funny. Or maybe she was just imagining things. Her phone vibrated and she reached into her purse to discretely pull it out without getting caught. It was a new text from Rachel. Sent to everyone in New Directions, Quinn assumed.

_Brief glee club meeting in the choir room. Immediately after school._

Quinn wondered what that would be about. But sure enough, when the final bell rang, she headed in the direction of that classroom. When she got there, Mercedes, Artie, and of course Rachel were already there. They waited patiently for the other kids to arrive.

"Okay," Rachel started to announce once everyone except for Finn had arrived. "Miss Pillsbury said we can still go to Sectionals tomorrow as long as it seems like we have twelve members. We tried to talk to Finn but…" Rachel glanced up at Quinn and then Puck. "Well anyway, we found a solution. Jacob will be our twelfth member at Sectionals tomorrow. He will be wearing Finn's costume, even if it doesn't fit quite right, and he has been instructed not to sing. He will just sway in the back."

"Hold up," Santana interjected. "Jacob? Who the hell is that?"

"Um," Rachel replied nervously. "Jacob Ben Israel. He's um… he runs that blog?"

"The kid who told Coach Sylvester I was pregnant," Quinn clarified.

Everyone looked around at each other awkwardly. The whole situation made everyone uncomfortable.

"Look," Rachel said. "It was either this or we'd have to forfeit Sectionals. I for one am excited to perform tomorrow and I would have thought you all would be too!"

Quinn was grateful that Rachel had found a solution. So she smiled meekly.

"So we show up here at 11:00 AM?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah," Rachel replied, now also smiling. "The bus can take all of us, even Artie," she added, smiling, "to the competition."

"Well I guess I better go home and practice our ballad," Mercedes said, finally showing her support for this solution.

Everyone else seemed happy enough too and the club parted ways and headed to their lockers.

Quinn got out whatever she'd need for homework over the weekend and then as she closed her locker door, found herself face-to-face with Puck.

"You ready?" he asked.

She couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

Since Quinn didn't have a key to the apartment, it was lucky that Mr. Schue had actually gotten home before they arrived. He seemed to approve of her moving in with Puck and he wished the best to both of them as they left. He also reminded them that he would always be there for both of them if they needed anything. They all waved goodbye to each other.

Quinn got her suitcase into her car and then drove behind Puck, trying to memorize the route as she followed him. Knowing how to get to the new place she was living might come in handy in the future.

When they arrived, Quinn took in her surroundings. He had a pretty nice house, much like Finn's in both size and appearance, but just in a different neighborhood. Puck didn't have a pool, even though Quinn had always figured he did, probably because of his whole pool cleaning business thing. The front yard had a big tree in it and the walkway up to the door was one of those where you had to carefully step on the stones and avoid the dirt in between.

Puck walked right in and Quinn felt awkward about following him in, especially since she was lugging her suitcase with her. She did follow him in, and closed the door behind her. But she lingered right by the doorway, wondering if Puck's mom or sister were home. Puck seemed to read her mind.

"Abby doesn't get home from school for another hour and my mom works till like six," he explained.

Quinn felt uncomfortable moving in without even _talking_ to Ms. Puckerman first.

"Don't worry about it, they're gonna love you," he said, noticing her hesitation. "So… do you want to sleep in my bed? It's a double."

Quinn's eyes went wide. She didn't think about the fact that the Puckermans probably didn't have a guest room. That had been so convenient at Finn's house.

Puck seemed disappointed by her reaction.

"You could just sleep on the couch bed too," he added as an option. "You know, if we take the couch cushions off... it pulls out and it's not the _most_ comfortable… but it _would_ be your own bed."

Quinn nodded. "Yeah, that sounds better to me." She wondered if Puck had been hoping to have sex with her again, and if maybe that had been the only reason he'd invited her to live there.

"Well, um… the couch is in the middle of the living room," Puck continued, sticking to the business of getting Quinn moved in. "So… I don't know about where we should put your stuff."

"Maybe your bedroom would work?" Quinn suggested. "Do you have any extra room in your dresser or closet for my clothes? Or a place there where I could store my suitcase?"

"Oh, yeah." Puck liked that idea. "I use all of my drawers but I could probably move some stuff around and free one up… and I also do have a lot of space in my closet."

"Alright," she replied. Puck kindly carried Quinn's suitcase up the stairs for her, and they proceeded to begin to get her all settled in. Quinn wasn't sure how this would work out, and felt very nervous about meeting Puck's sister and mom for the first time. Still, Quinn felt hopeful. The previous afternoon had been so terrifying, being homeless and alone. Now, she at least had Puck on her side. She looked up toward the ceiling and thought about how maybe God had answered her prayer from the previous night. Not only did she now have a more permanent place to live, but the glee club competing at Sectionals was also actually going to happen after all. As she followed Puck to his bedroom, she silently thanked Him for both things.


	23. Sectionals

Sure enough, Puck's little sister, Abigail, got back from the bus stop about an hour later. She politely shook Quinn's hand and let her brother do the introductions. Her backpack was still on her back as she looked up at the teenagers and Quinn couldn't help but be struck by how small she looked. She found it hard to believe that less than five years ago, she and Puck both looked like that too.

"So, Abby… I know this is gonna come as a surprise to you, but um…" Puck hesitated, nervous about how she was going to react.

Abigail was perceptive, though. Her eyes moved down to Quinn's abdomen and landed on the baby bump just as Puck finished his thought.

"Quinn's gonna be moving in here with us."

Abigail nodded slowly, understanding everything. She didn't seem nearly as surprised as Quinn thought she would be.

Puck looked over at Quinn and she returned his gaze. They both didn't know what to say next, but the young girl then decided to provide the fuel for the conversation.

"You got her pregnant, didn't you?" She said the words simply. It was a rhetorical question. She knew he had.

Puck's eyes went wide. "How…?" He was at a loss for words.

Quinn felt the girl's eyes on the place where she was expanding more and more every day and selfishly hoped that Abigail wouldn't answer the way she thought she would. The idea that even children can tell on a first glance that she was pregnant, just from how fat she was getting, was a very unsettling thought. She shifted on her feet slightly, waiting for the girl's response.

"Mom was always afraid this would happen. She knew you had sex way too much. She… she'd mention it a lot while you were out at the girls' houses."

Puck gaped at her, shocked that their mother would talk about his sex life with his only eleven-year-old sister. Quinn felt torn between a lot of emotions, ranging from finding the whole situation quite amusing to feeling a bit horrified herself… and she even felt a little hurt. She hated being what apparently Puck's mom had always thought was inevitable, just one of his _many_ sexual conquests – the one whose life was ruined by him accidentally knocking her up. She tried to keep all of her emotions hidden and forced a straight face.

"So when am I going to become an aunt?" Abby asked Quinn bluntly.

"Oh! Um." The question threw Quinn off. "I'm in my second trimester already, um… about eighteen weeks pregnant at this point," she finally answered. "My due date is at the beginning of May."

Puck nodded, already knowing all of this, more or less. Sure he didn't know the trimester or exact week Quinn was in, but he knew that the baby was supposed to arrive in May, right as the school year was ending. This made sense, given as May was about nine months after the month of August, which was when they'd done the deed that fateful night.

"Good to know," Abby replied, matter-of-factly, before turning her back to the teenagers and proceeding into the next room to throw her backpack onto the floor. Quinn could hear the television turn on and the beginning of the girl's after-school-routine beginning.

* * *

"So your mom gets home right at six? Or she leaves work then?" Quinn glanced at the clock on the stove, noting that it read 5:30. She was sitting at the kitchen table with Puck, both of them working on their homework. Puck usually didn't put this much time into his homework but since Quinn was there, and she _always_ spent a reasonable amount of time on her homework, he figured sitting at the table with her actually trying to get a good grade for once in his life wouldn't be the worst thing ever.

"Well actually, she always leaves work at five," Puck answered. "She works at a bank up in Findlay, which is about forty-five minutes away. But with rush hour traffic… it usually ends up being a whole hour or more before she gets here."

Quinn nervously looked at the digital clock again. If there was less traffic than normal, Puck's mom might be home any minute now. She worried about what might happen once Miriam got there. Quinn pictured herself being kicked out of yet another home and the thought almost made her want to cry. She tried to reassure herself, reminding herself that Puck felt sure his mom actually _wanted_ Quinn taken care of like this. She tried to return her focus to her schoolwork.

When Mariam walked through the door, Quinn's whole body got tense and her head perked up toward that area of the house. Footsteps approached the kitchen.

"Just relax," Puck whispered to Quinn, reaching his hand across the table and gently touching hers. They remained seated until the woman entered the room. She blinked a few times at the sight she stumbled across.

"Noah, are you actually doing your homework?"

Quinn smiled. She wasn't even bringing up the fact that an unfamiliar blond girl was seated in her kitchen right away. She was already feeling a little relieved… like maybe this was a sign that the woman would be completely okay with her moving in, just like Puck had said.

"Mom, don't be rude," he scolded, feeling like his mother was insulting Quinn by ignoring her. "I want you to meet Quinn." He gestured toward her.

Quinn stood up, suddenly finding herself awkwardly close to Miriam. She attempted to step back just a little while at the same time reaching forward for a handshake. She smiled nervously.

"Hello, Mrs. Puckerman," she said politely. "It's really nice to meet you."

Puck's mother reciprocated the handshake and smiled in return. "It's nice to meet you as well."

When the handshake was complete, and they had let go of each other's grasp, they both awkwardly stood there for a few moments. Quinn fiddled with one of her sleeves nervously.

"So, Quinn," Miriam said. "Will you be joining us for dinner?"

Quinn bit her lip and glanced toward Puck. She could feel all of her fears rising. "Um…" she quietly began to answer, but the woman interrupted.

"We'll have plenty. I was just planning to make spaghetti and meatballs. We usually have leftovers for a week. So you're certainly welcome to."

Quinn still was afraid to make the announcement, but luckily Puck stepped up and saved her just in time.

"Actually, Mom… I know it's short notice, but um… I figured after the way you were talking last night, you'd be totally cool with it…"

Quinn wished he would just spit it out, but his mother was being very patient as she waited for her son to get to the point.

"Quinn was actually planning on moving in here with us. I invited her and told her it'd be okay," he added.

"Tonight?" Miriam asked, her eyes getting a bit wide. She was clearly surprised that less than twenty-four hours after learning she'd be becoming a grandmother, she was going to be living with that unborn grandchild and its mother.

"I told Pu- I mean Noah that it was probably a bad idea to move in without talking to you about it first. I didn't unpack my suitcase or anything yet," Quinn mumbled.

"Mom, please?" Puck started to beg, quietly but sincerely. "Quinn… kind of doesn't have anywhere else to go," he said in a near-whisper. "Her parents kicked her out of the house when they found out."

When Finn had told his mother the same piece of news, Quinn had seen such sympathy in Carole's eyes. Here, with Miriam, it was a different story. She wasn't unsympathetic… it was just… she was confused.

"They aren't even legally allowed to do that, are they?" she commented, realizing that sixteen-year-olds are still minors. Quinn shrugged. All she knew was that she didn't want to continue to live with them if they didn't want her there. She'd rather be homeless and sleeping on her teacher's couch or even in her car if it came to that.

"So can she move in?" Puck pressed on.

Miriam looked at her son, then at Quinn. She started to nod, slowly. "Yeah. I'm so sorry your parents did that."

Quinn looked down at her feet. Every time someone new found out about how her parents kicked her out, and expressed their sympathy, she didn't know how to react. She was really hurt by her own parents' actions, and everyone else acting so… seriously about it emphasized just how extreme and horrible they had been.

Miriam continued, "I… I can't imagine treating either of my own children that way, regardless of what they did." She shot her son a loving smirk. "But you'd better not test me," she warned him, jokingly.

Quinn's stomach made a small noise, and she wondered if either of the Puckermans standing in the kitchen had heard it. She was quite hungry… it'd been about seven hours since she (and her daughter) had eaten.

"So, could I maybe help you prepare dinner?" Quinn suggested, hoping to come off as polite.

"Oh, um… you don't have to do that, sweetie. You should finish your homework."

"Thanks, but I don't mind. I only have like five more minutes left to do anyway… I'd rather finish it up after dinner."

Miriam smiled.

"I'll go tell Abby it's official: Quinn's moving in!" Puck was excited. "She's gonna be sleeping on the couch bed. Right, Mom?"

She looked at Quinn, and then at her son. "Well, since she's _already_ pregnant, I don't _really_ see a good reason to object to you two sharing Puck's bed…" she trailed off when she noticed Quinn's face. The girl did not seem comfortable in the slightest with that idea. "Then again, it wouldn't send a good message to your sister, now would it, Noah?"

The excitement on his face faded. "I guess not. So the couch bed it is."

"While Quinn and I make dinner, you should get some fresh sheets for it."

"What? But Mom, I am really bad at making beds."

"Noah."

"Fine." He turned and left the room, heading upstairs towards both his sister and the linen closet.

* * *

Dinner went well, and conversation was pleasant. Despite the awkwardness of the whole situation, no one was treating Quinn like a pariah. She was slowly getting to know Puck's family, as they were her. Quinn also felt like she and Puck were getting to know each other a bit better. There was still much left unsaid, including everything about what would happen once the baby was born, but there would be plenty of time for that. Quinn was going to be there for months at the least, and the family of three were fully accepting of that, much to Quinn's relief.

Abby, Miriam, and Puck all went upstairs for bed, and Quinn stayed in the living room, prepared to sleep on the newly made-up bed. She changed into her nightgown and brushed her teeth in the powder room which was also down on the first floor of the house. She looked in the mirror and found herself surprised by her own thoughts. She had, for months, been feeling ugly and fat – more and more so every day. But now, here she was in a tiny bathroom with a mirror above the sink, wishing it was a full length mirror. She wished she could see her expanding belly, knowing her daughter was growing inside of her. She wanted to see all the evidence of that, and suddenly she realized just how great being visibly pregnant really was. It was an obvious indicator that a new human being was being created, and regardless of every other factor, that was a beautiful thing.

She turned off the light in the bathroom as she left and headed back to her new bed. She felt grateful to not have to sleep in the same bed as Puck. She found a way to make herself comfortable under the blankets and fell asleep quickly.

* * *

Quinn woke up to the faint sound of "Don't Stop Believin'" playing behind a door upstairs. It must have been in Puck's bedroom. She got up and wandered toward the kitchen, looking for a clock. She soon discovered that it was 9:30 am. There was still plenty of time to eat breakfast and get to the school by eleven.

No one else appeared to be awake yet, so Quinn hesistantly perused through the cabinets, opening them just to look and then closing them without disturbing anything. She was trying to familiarize herself with what food options they had, and where their dishes were all stored as well. Before long she found what she'd been hoping to find: a cereal pantry.

She was debating between pouring herself a bowl or just waiting for the other family members to get up when Abby came walking into the kitchen at a very quick pace. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the blond.

"Oh. Hi. I forgot you were here."

"Hi." Quinn wasn't sure how to respond. "Good morning."

They stood there awkwardly for a few more moments.

"It's fine if you want to have some cereal," Abby said, noticing Quinn's hand still on the door to the cereal pantry.

"Oh? Thanks," she replied.

* * *

Puck was almost late but they managed to leave the house on time and arrive, together, at McKinley right as all of the other New Directions members were arriving as well. Puck's family only had one car, and since they'd be gone for hours, Quinn had thought it only seemed right to take her own vehicle to the event. She also had insisted upon driving. Now that they were at the school, Puck in the passenger's seat, they had to exit the car and wonder who might notice how they had come together.

They got it over with quickly and made their way to the bus. Quinn found a seat in the back, and Puck joined her but then got back up to help with Artie when he realized someone was going to be needed for the job. She smiled.

Santana stole Puck's seat while he was busy standing up, and Quinn didn't feel like asking Santana of all people to leave so that she and Puck could sit together. So Quinn bit her tongue and just let Santana sit there. She had a feeling the whole reason Santana had chosen that seat was to prevent Puck from getting near Quinn. If only Santana knew where Quinn had just moved in.

The bus ride took only half an hour. It was fun, but they all missed Finn and Mr. Schue, and no one could stand Jacob. Quinn would have thought she'd be the person who'd like him the least, but as it turned out, he was actually torturing Rachel the most. Miss Pillsbury mainly stayed quiet and everyone else rehearsed the set. They sang at the top of their lungs, enthusiasm and excitement pouring out of them. They had been preparing for months for this day and now they would all get their chance to shine.

* * *

Jane Addams Academy ripped the rug out right from under each and every one of them. They stole two of the three songs straight from the New Directions' set list and performed the songs so well they received standing ovations! After they were done and before the second group everyone headed back out to the lobby area. Artie started ramming himself into the wall and Mercedes actually started crying. Tina began to comfort her as Quinn just watched. No one understood how this could have happened, but Quinn did. She glanced over at Santana and Brittany, neither of whom seemed nearly as phased by the whole situation as the rest of the team did. Quinn knew the three of them Cheerios had been asked to spy for Sue Sylvester and destroy Glee club from the beginning, and while she was no longer a part of that, she had no idea if the other two cheerleaders still were participating in any schemes like that.

Puck came up behind her. "Hi," he said softly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she answered. Her entire heart hadn't been set on winning the way it seemed Rachel's and everyone else's had. It would have been nice, but being pregnant kind of put things like show choir competitions into perspective. "You?"

"I guess," Puck answered, but Quinn heard more anger in his voice than she expected. He was quite upset over this whole thing.

She turned to face him. "Who knew you'd care so much about Glee?"

"Yeah, it took me by surprise too," he replied.

* * *

That had been nothing compared to the surprise everyone felt when Finn showed up during their impromptu meeting in the green room. Quinn had _just_ finished suggesting to the group that they do "Somebody to Love", the Queen song they'd ended their Invitationals performance with, because it was a crowd pleaser and everyone had liked the idea. They needed a final song suggestion for their set, though. Something they could do well as an entire group on _very_ short notice.

Finn didn't come into the room empty-handed, though. He came bearing sheet-music! He'd found it online, used the Cheerios copier to make copies, then trashed the thing. Matt handed her one of the pieces of paper. Quinn looked down at the title of the song.

"You Can't Always Get What You Want".

She almost felt like crying. It was true for everyone here in the New Directions today, sure. It was also true for how poor Finn was feeling after everything she'd just put him through. She felt so guilty. She glanced up at him, but he was clearly avoiding eye contact with her and Puck. She figured that was probably for the best. They needed to be a team right now.

Puck, on the other hand, seemed to have different thoughts because he started to approach his former best friend after Finn had delegated the role of figuring out the choreography to the four best dancers in the group, Matt, Mike, Brittany, and Santana. Puck extended his hand, hoping they could shake on a truce.

"We cool, dude?" he asked.

Finn looked over at him, still leaving his hand hanging bare. He seemed to be thinking about maybe taking it. Quinn felt eerily reminded of when she'd thought her dad was going to hug her the night he'd found out she was pregnant. "No," Finn finally answered simply, and then he looked toward Quinn.

"Finn," she started to say, pleading for him to hear her. She didn't really have anything good to say, but she just needed him to know how awful she felt. He turned away, though, and she was left standing there, gaping a bit. He went right up to Rachel, and Quinn couldn't deny that that hurt a bit.

"You okay?" Rachel asked him.

"Don't worry about me. Okay? This is all up to you, now. You wanted the solo; you wanted the chance to be the star. This is it. Don't screw it up." He smiled at her so sweetly, _flirtingly_ even, and Quinn let it sting, knowing she deserved every ounce of pain it was causing and so much more.

* * *

The club decided to enter from the back of the auditorium and "parade in" at a fitting point in Rachel's solo song, which was aptly titled "Don't Rain on My Parade". It was from some musical no one in the club had seen – except for Kurt, of course – but they trusted it'd be great. When Rachel headed out there, belting it out powerfully, they all could hear loud and clear that yes, it was great. As they waited for their cue, they all glanced at each other, nervous excitement on their faces. They were all now wearing the costumes they'd ordered. They had split up into two groups, so that they'd enter into both aisles, and so Quinn was left standing between Mike and Tina near the back of a line of five that was headed by Finn. Puck was leading in the line on the other side. The two groups would have been slightly uneven, as their twelfth member was already in front of the crowd, singing out her heart and soul, but Artie couldn't go along with their plan anyway, as he couldn't make it up the stairs gracefully like the rest of them could.

When they got onto the stage, Quinn crossed over to the other side like everyone else – the crisscrossing was part of their planned choreography – and stepped up two risers, finding her position. They all kept their hands behind their backs and were smiling. Artie joined them smoothly from the side of the stage and then Rachel introduced them all.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. New Directions!"

They started to sing the song Finn had picked out for them. It was originally a Rolling Stones song. They had only rehearsed it twice and they knew it'd be sloppy, but Quinn felt more excited than ever. All of their smiles were sincere – the feeling was contagious and wonderful up on that stage.

There was a lot of marching and twirling that she had to focus on doing just right, considering she had just been introduced to these moves less than an hour ago. However, as she danced, she found herself easily going with the flow of everyone.

She ended up with Puck in the back corner of the stage for a bit, them dancing around each other in a circle and smiling at each other, and for the second time that day she was thinking about their Invitationals performance - this time she was having flashbacks to when they'd sang that Carrie Underwood song.

Later on in the song, she was near the front of the stage, letting Artie twirl her, which was different than dancing with a guy who was taller than her. She had memories of Finn twirling her back when the club had sang "Keep Holding On" just for her. She realized that for the first time in the entire two days since they'd broken up, remembering good times she'd had with Finn didn't make her heart ache. And this extremely fun moment as Artie twirled her was going to be a good memory too. Artie was in a wheelchair and therefore his arms didn't reach up nearly as high, and she had to just spin in towards his chair and then let go. But still the action caused her hair and dress to spin around her in a way that made her feel free. She also felt beautiful, like when she had been a little girl pretending to be a princess.

The crowd was clapping in rhythm, going along with the song, and somehow the dancing led Quinn back to the top riser, where now she was in a small group of three with both Puck and Santana. She never would have thought the three of them could stand to be this close to each other, let alone all of them with such _huge_ smiles on their faces. But there they were, practically laughing together as they danced in a sort of improvisational style.

For the end of the song, Quinn had somehow found herself all the way stage right, at one of the ends of the single line they were forming across the stage.

* * *

They finished with "Somebody to Love" like they'd planned, and it was fun as well. Then they all had to wait for the judges to make their decision. Quinn stood with her back up against the wall as Artie pressed a glass to the door and a few others their bare ears. Everyone was so curious to find out what was going to happen. That was when Miss Hitchens, the choir director for Jane Addams, showed up.

"Hey," she said, her tone a bit subdued.

Everyone turned to face her.

"I just wanted to say how great you all were, and… I thought you were amazing."

"We have _nothing_ to say to you," Rachel retorted harshly.

Quinn agreed with her sentiment, as she was sure everyone did.

"Because we cheated. I know," she admitted, much to everyone's surprise.

Quinn looked at Santana, who was standing right beside her. Santana looked back, equally baffled that after all of that, this despicable woman would actually admit to her crime.

"I feel terrible about it, but… I'm gonna tell the judges right now that we don't deserve to win."

Just then, the judges exited the room, having made their decision already. They wouldn't even give Miss Hitchens a chance to get her team disqualified. Quinn watched with her teammates in frustration as they walked off to announce the winners on stage.

"Well, we probably should follow them, right?" Kurt said. The three teams were supposed to be on stage, ready to clap politely for the other groups and to claim their trophy, because regardless of if they got first, second, or third place, they'd get some kind of trophy.

On stage, they started off by announcing that the deaf choir had received third place, and then everyone waited with bated breath.

"And the winners of the 2009 Western Ohio High School Show Choir Sectionals Competition are… New Directions!"

Quinn couldn't believe it. For a moment, it felt like the world had stopped. And then suddenly, it was so very much alive. They actually had confetti fall from above the stage. Emma took the trophy for the group, and everyone gathered around their temporary club advisor, some of the members even hugging her. Santana actually gave Quinn a high five. Everyone walked back to the bus in a daze, shocked that they could have won using numbers with so little planning behind them, after so much going wrong with their whole set list being stolen and the babygate scandal. On the ride home, Santana sat next to Brittany and let Puck have his seat back. She seemed to be accepting the fact that Puck and Quinn were going to have a connection of some kind, be it friendship or maybe more, given the fact that she was carrying his child.


	24. Hanukkah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first chapter I wrote after Cory Monteith died. My heart continues to be broken, and I don't see myself stopping to grieve both the real man and the character of Finn anytime soon. Part of my grief stems from this fic of mine itself, because I'd written so much exploring Finn's character and his sweetness with Quinn in the earlier chapters of this fic, and the process of writing this fic had made me fall in love with Finn and the Fuinn ship, in a way. I've done a lot of my grieving of both Finn and Cory through vidding: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQIrXD4weMli9s7KOQHAc9t0Z1wREOgU7 ;) I do actually plan to write a Finn's death fic very soon, too, though. It's been a long time coming. I feel a need to write a story dealing with things that the show didn't touch on enough, even more than when I felt a need to fill in the gaps in Quinn's season 1 story with this fic. ;)
> 
> Back when I first posted this on fanfiction.net (slightly over 1 week after Cory's death) I wrote in my author's note: "I can't imagine what Dianna Agron is feeling, for instance, but thinking about Quinn does make me picture her face. I feel weird imagining a Dianna who is exactly the same as before Cory died. I feel like everything should be (and is) different now. But... … I do want to continue updating this fic, though. So I will just… stay in my world where it's still season 1 and neither Cory nor Finn are dead and neither Dianna nor Quinn has any reason to be grieving."

Everyone in New Directions parted ways after getting off the bus in the McKinley parking lot on Saturday afternoon, letting Finn take home the trophy. He was their leader, and they wouldn't have won it without him. They'd present the trophy to Mr. Schue on Monday, but now was the time for everyone to enjoy what was left of their weekend.

Quinn drove Puck home with a smile on her face, as Puck fiddled with the radio. He settled on a classic rock station. Puck then decided to start singing along. He clearly knew the lyrics by heart.

_He's crawling down the corridor_  
 _On his hands and knees_  
 _Old Charlie stole the handle_

_And the train- it won't stop going_  
 _No way to slow down._

"Who is this song by?" Quinn asked, completely unfamiliar with what she was hearing.

"Are you serious?" Puck asked. "How can you not know Jethro Tull? They're legendary. Hear that?" He paused so Quinn could listen to an instrumental portion in the middle of the song. "That's Ian Anderson actually pulling off playing the _flute_ in a rock song."

"Cool," Quinn replied, genuinely finding both the sound of the music nice and the trivia interesting.

They pulled into the driveway and Quinn gently slowed to a stop before shifting the car into park. She buttoned up her coat again before heading back out into the chilly weather. Puck was already halfway to the front door of his house when Quinn had finally gotten to opening her own car door.

He realized he was running ahead of her and then lingered, turning back to face Quinn and wait for her. They then walked the final steps to his house together.

"We won!" Puck exclaimed, to no one in particular, as they entered the foyer area. Abigail and Miriam seemed to not be around. "Maybe they're upstairs," he commented, quieter this time.

"Yeah, maybe," Quinn replied. She smiled, finding it cute how Puck was so excited to share the news of their victory with his mom and sister.

They made their way up the stairs softly, listening for signs of life. There did seem to be television-like noises coming from a bedroom that Quinn had never been in before.

Puck knocked.

"Come in," his mother called out, barely loud enough for them to hear.

He gently opened the door. Quinn saw little Abby snuggled up against her mother, them both in the mother's bed. Quinn turned her head and saw that they were watching a re-run episode of _The Office_.

"So, did you have fun?" Miriam asked half-heartedly, not even turning her head away from the TV. Quinn noted that she might not even notice if her son didn't bother to answer. She didn't seem very invested in the question.

"Mom, you're _supposed_ to ask if we won or not," Puck corrected.

"Oh. Sorry," she replied.

"Well… we won!" he exclaimed again, this time within earshot of the people to which he was announcing the news.

"Aw, that's great, honey," Miriam replied, a bit too unenthusiastically. Abby didn't even respond.

Quinn looked up at Puck, sympathetically. She could tell he was desperate for his family to understand his passion for their glee club and appreciate it too. She could, sadly, relate to a parent and even a sister not being quite proud enough of her on various occasions when she'd wished for it.

Quinn and Puck left Abby and Miriam, shutting the door softly behind them as they exited the room.

"So… what do you want to do with the rest of the day?" Puck asked her.

"Well… I'm kind of starving," Quinn replied. They had kind of skipped lunch that day.

"I think we might have some lunchmeat," he told her with a smile. "Come on."

They perused the fridge and pantry a bit and found everything they'd need to make some reasonable turkey sandwiches. While they ate, they discussed the events of the day.

"I couldn't believe we got a _standing ovation_ ," Puck commented, still awestruck.

"And on the bus ride home, you saw how Santana totally let you take the seat next to me, right?" Quinn said.

"Yeah." He grinned. "I love that girl, but…" he hesitated when he saw Quinn's smile fade. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I… I mean she's sexy as hell and always up for a good time, and she's one hell of a dancer-"

"Just stop!" Quinn interjected. She couldn't take it anymore. She shouldn't be surprised that he'd have feelings for Santana. He had been… dating? her for a while now. Even when Puck had gone babysitting with Quinn he'd been busy the whole time sexting Santana. But here she was, feeling incredibly jealous of whatever "bond" Puck and Santana clearly had.

Puck sympathetically pursed his lips and looked over at Quinn, who turned her eyes down toward her plate. She concentrated on chewing what was left of her sandwich.

"I'm not _in love_ with her," he assured her. "Don't worry." Quinn nodded, hearing him. She didn't fully believe him, though. She was certainly still worried.

They finished their final bites in silence. As they cleared their plates off the table, Miriam entered the kitchen.

"So, Quinn, will you be joining us for Temple tonight?" She looked up at Mrs. Puckerman. "It's the first night of Hanukkah," she explained, "and while we don't go to synagogue as often as we should, we don't miss any of the holidays."

"Thank God we don't go every single Friday night," Puck muttered under his breath, and Quinn couldn't help notice him taking the Lord's name in vain.

"Uh…" Quinn started to reply, nervously, to Puck's mother. "I've never been to a Jewish… 'syn-oh-gah'? before."

"It's _synagogue_ ," Abby clarified as she entered the room. "Basically it's just a church, but for Jews."

Quinn nodded at Abby. "Oh, right. Thanks." Turning back toward the woman, she added, "Um… would you like me to join your family? I don't mind staying home… or coming. Whichever would make you more comfortable," she replied. She was nervous about attending their temple service. She believed so strongly in things that everyone there would disagree with, and she feared possible rules which she might accidentally break.

"You should come," Abby answered on behalf of the rest of her family. "It's pretty boring, especially when they speak in Hebrew for a long time and you don't understand a word they're saying… but staying home all by yourself doesn't sound like much fun either," she reasoned.

"Yeah," Puck agreed. "I want you to join us."

"Okay," Quinn replied, still nervous but happy to be invited. "When will we be leaving?"

"Services start right around sunset, which is _early_ in the wintertime," Miriam answered. I think the service will start at 4:00 pm today. So we should leave in… maybe fifteen minutes?

"Alright," Quinn replied. She then looked down at herself, thinking about how she should probably change her clothes. "What do people usually wear to… synagogue?" she asked, this time carefully getting her pronunciation of the unfamiliar word correct. She hated that she'd grown up so sheltered and didn't even know these basic things about Judaism.

"Abby can help you pick out an appropriate outfit, right, honey?" Miriam told Quinn, then glancing at her daughter. She was asking a rhetorical question.

"Yeah. Sure!" Abby replied, happy to help. She looked Quinn right in the eyes. "Let's look through your stuff. It's all in Puck's room, right?"

* * *

Quinn fiddled with her cross necklace, looking at herself in the small above-the-sink mirror in the downstairs powder room. She'd be leaving with the Puckerman family any minute now. She wasn't sure if she wanted to keep it safely tucked inside the collar of the simple black dress Abby had helped her settle on, or pull it out and proudly display her different belief system. She was proud of being a Christian, and she certainly wouldn't be pretending to be Jewish tonight at the service, but she didn't want to make people uncomfortable, or even be rude to them. She thought about her baby bump and wondered if people in a Jewish temple would judge her just like a church would. _Probably,_ she figured. She hoped most people wouldn't notice it, but if they did… would they know she was pregnant? Or would they just assume she was fat? She was somewhat grateful to be interrupted from these thoughts.

"Quinn? Are you ready?" Puck's mother was calling out to her from the top of the stairs.

"Yeah!" she called back.

Technically, however, that wasn't quite true. She still had this one final decision to make. Twirling the gold piece of jewelry between her fingers another time, she made her decision. She would to go for it and proudly display the fact that she did believe in Jesus being her savior. Gently, she centered it and double checked its position one last time before leaving the bathroom where she had changed into her dress.

* * *

Going to synagogue was a surprisingly good experience. The first thing Quinn noticed was that the building had lovely architecture. When she and the Puckermans first entered, Puck took a yarmulke from a bin and placed it on his head. Quinn looked around, and realized only the men and boys followed this practice. This made things simpler for her, as she didn't have to worry about fastening some tiny hat to her head. People smiled at the group of four as if this blond girl had always been a part of their family. They made their way to their seats, and everything did remind her a bit of church.

No one seemed to even notice her expanding abdomen, and no one there already knew that she was pregnant the way everyone at school did. As the service started, things remained simple enough. She could easily follow everyone else's lead for when to stand and when to sit. The Hebrew language sounded beautiful and was fascinating to hear, everyone was dressed nicely and everyone there from the rabbi to the people filling the pews seemed to be in a particularly good mood – perhaps because of the celebration. There was a good percentage of English spoken as well at this synagogue – in fact, Hebrew seemed reserved for prayers and when they read aloud from the Torah. Quinn was grateful to be able to understand a sermon about the miracle of Hanukkah and the story behind the holiday, and then she saw the lighting of the first candle a menorah. She was surprised that on the first day two candles were already lit, but learned that the middle one was just to help light all of the other candles. Hanukkah is only eight days long, but there are nine spots for candles in a typical Hanukkah menorah. She also learned that the service was shorter than a typical Shabbat service. She wondered what this word 'Shabbat' was and made a mental note to try to remember in the car ride home to ask the Puckerman family.

After the service, the congregation gathered in a side room to eat challah, which Quinn tried for the first time. It was a delicious type of bread. It was then that a stranger first noticed Quinn's golden cross necklace draped outside her dark dress, the contrast of color making it all the more obvious.

"You're a little far from home, I see," the twenty-something-year-old man joked, pulling Quinn's attention away from her treat.

"What?" Quinn asked, flustered.

He gestured lightly toward her chest.

She looked down and was reminded of the symbol lying there. "Oh, yeah," she replied. "I guess I am."

"You're with the Puckermans?" he asked, seeming genuinely curious.

"Mmm hmm," Quinn murmured in affirmation. "Noah is actually my… boyfriend," she said. She wasn't sure what to call him. 'Boyfriend' certainly seemed like a lie. Unless they decided to kiss again, which they hadn't done since the night he'd gotten her pregnant, she was pretty sure there was no way in a million years she could get away with calling him that.

"That's nice," he replied with a gentle smile. He looked up and it seemed another person in the room was beckoning to him. "Well… Happy Hanukkah," he said to her kindly before leaving.

Quinn looked around and saw Puck's little sister chatting happily with a girl her own age, and Puck's mother doing the same with a woman who also seemed to be similar in age. Puck was alone, though. She made her way over to him.

"Challah is delicious," she commented with a grin.

He looked up at her and smiled. "Being Jewish has its perks."

About fifteen minutes later, the group left the building to head back to the car. Quinn loved how there was sunlight before entering but now it was pitch black out. The drastic difference in the sky's appearance made something about the whole experience seem more special. Quinn didn't believe what any of these people believed, but she appreciated Judaism and Hanukkah in a whole new way now.

"When we get home," Abby began to announce, "we're going to light our own house's menorah too!" Quinn found herself feeling just as excited as the young girl sounded. "And," Abby continued, "Mom is gonna give me my first Hannukah gift!"

"Yeah," Puck explained with a chuckle. "Each of the eight nights, you get one gift, for eight gifts total. Well… kids in our family do, at least."

Quinn smiled. She was glad the festivities of the holiday weren't quite over yet. As she got inside Puck's mom's car, she found herself truly feeling like she was heading "home", despite having only lived with the Puckermans for a little over one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this chapter, I decided to take some liberties with the calendar. The way my fic has been going, so far it's been accurate to what the 2009 calendar was, but for this chapter, I realize I'm kind of blurring the lines. Hanukkah started at sundown on Friday, December 11th in 2009 but in my fic, given when Thanksgiving was, and then school photos on a Friday, and then Sectionals on a Saturday… Sectionals probably would have been Saturday, December 12th meaning I "forgot" about Hanukkah. I don't want to have forgotten it though.
> 
> The differences in religion between Puck's family and Quinn would be significant in my opinion, much more than the show touched on. I think in general religion is always handled somewhat "unrealistically" on TV shows. They did mention it in passing here or there, but I want to explore it more. Hence, here in my chapter the Saturday on which Sectionals took place is also the first night of Hanukkah. (In 2012, Hanukkah did start on a Saturday. So it's not completely ridiculous to think it could have started on that day of the week the year that these things took place. I'm essentially moving the holiday over one day.)
> 
> Also, by the way… I was raised Catholic, since my mother's side of the family was Catholic. I am an atheist now. My dad's side of my extended family is Jewish. I believe most of them, if not all, are a part of what is known as "Reform" Judaism. I think it is reasonable to conclude that Puck could potentially be a Reform Jew as well. My knowledge of Judaism and temple practices comes from attending one of my male first cousins' and one of my male second cousins' Bar Mitzvahs and three of my female second cousins' Bat Mitzvahs, in places far away from my home. Since we traveled far for these celebrations, we were there for more than just the Saturday of the event – we also often went to an additional synagogue service the night before and I saw firsthand the typical Shabbat (Sabbath) service at three different synagogues as well as the daytime special Bar/Bat Mitzvah service. One of these times, it coincided with the holiday of Hanukkah, so I did see some of this celebration firsthand. I know every temple is different and there can be extreme differences in types of Judaism, just like in Christianity. I did some Google searches to help me write this chapter in addition to relying on my own memory. I think in many ways I was a lot like Quinn – when I was only a few years younger than Quinn is supposed to be, I was being exposed to Judaism largely for the first time. But still… I may have major errors in this fic. I tried to avoid them but if I did get any details completely wrong, I sincerely apologize. Again… I tried my best.


	25. The First Snowfall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway… here is the very last chapter pertaining to episode 1x13 "Sectionals" of the show. Finally. Technically, this episode spanned chapters 19 through 25 of my fic, haha. I hope you enjoyed the journey. I had no idea I could or would make a single episode of Glee – which in my mind apparently spanned approximately five days, from a Thursday through a Monday – span this far.
> 
> This chapter (Chapter 25) explores the final week-and-a-half leading up to McKinley High School's December 2009 winter break. Chapter 26 will be about their time off school. Chapter 27 will show their return to the school in January 2010 and cover episode 1x14 "Hell-O". This is the direction my fic is taking. Hopefully I can finish it up and get to episode 1x22 with the birth of Beth sooner rather than later. This fic has taken me way too long to write, lol.
> 
> For the sake of posting the fic here on AO3 I decided to say this fic was going to be 33 chapters total. That is a rough estimate, but it might be correct. My plan for the rest of the fic leads the fic to be at least 31 chapters, I believe, and possibly more like 35 chapters if I end up getting carried away by the story at some point... lol. We'll see...

The next day was Sunday morning, and once again Quinn skipped church. This was the very first Sunday to arrive since she'd moved in with the Puckermans, and she wasn't sure what they might be expecting her to do when it came to church. Her cross necklace, which she'd been wearing constantly, even to temple, should have made it obvious to their whole family that she was Christian. But she had been avoiding attending a weekly worship service the entire time she'd stayed with Finn and his mom. She usually woke up early enough to go, and even still had her own car and could easily take herself… but she didn't think she'd be welcome at her own church. She didn't want to run into her parents, and everyone else in the congregation would have most likely heard the gossip by now. Everyone, even the pastor, would look at her as a sinner. She didn't want to deal with that.

Still, she made a point to pray every Sunday morning, in order to at least partially make up for the fact that she wasn't attending church. Today would be no different, despite the new surroundings she found herself in. She got out of the pull-out couch bed where she had been sleeping and, still in her nightgown, kneeled on the floor beside it. She then put her hands together, intertwining her fingers, and rested them upon the bed, closing her eyes to prepare to pray.

She thought about how grateful she was to have this bed to sleep on. She was extremely thankful that it had not been only the Hudsons who were so willing to take her in, but also now this new family, and she hadn't even had to ask them. Puck had just come to her, ready to save her from her homelessness without even truly having knowledge of just how dire her plight was. Everything was working out for her despite how scary and even hopeless it far too often seemed. She thanked God for His guiding hand in all of this - for never ignoring her desperation, and for giving her a place to land.

She focused on all of the positive things in her life, including the fact that just the day before, her glee club team had somehow managed to win a beautiful trophy despite the unfair set of events leading up to it. All of their planned songs had been stolen, yet somehow, they were able to triumph. She then thought about the little baby girl growing inside of her. She remembered that God _must_ have a plan. Far too often, in Quinn's life lately, it seemed all of her carefully laid plans were getting destroyed. The Schuesters weren't going to be adopting her baby. Finn found out the truth despite her best efforts to keep it concealed. Anything and everything was going wrong, and sometimes she felt like things couldn't get any worse. But, she realized things kept having a way of working themselves out, just the same. She might think things were going horribly, but not long after the thought entered her mind, things would start looking up.

"What are you doing?" a young voice called out from the top of the stairs, where Puck's sister was now standing and watching her.

Quinn looked down at herself. She was kneeling and had her hands in a pretty specific position.

"What do you think I'm doing?"

"Praying," Abigail answered.

"Exactly," Quinn confirmed with a smile. "Would you mind letting me finish up, really quickly?" she asked.

"Sure," Abby replied. Quinn wasn't sure what she had left for God to hear. She thanked Him again and said her 'Amen', then stood up. She felt a little dizzy as she rose, and she closed her eyes while pausing to steady herself and let the dizziness pass. This was a normal pregnancy symptom, and she knew it, but it was still one of the many unpleasant things she had to deal with.

Meanwhile, Abby made her way downstairs in order to pour herself a bowl of cereal. Quinn joined her in the kitchen.

"So, what were you praying about?" Abby asked, full of innocent curiosity. Quinn was a little surprised by the question. In her past experience, asking what someone had been praying about would be an invasion of privacy. But she found she didn't really mind answering.

"Um… well, I was thanking God for helping me end up here in your house, helping our show choir win sectionals, stuff like that."

"You're _glad_ you're here in our house?" Abby asked incredulously. "Didn't your parents kick you out or something?" The words were laced with the unspoken but obvious, _and isn't that a kind of horrible thing?_

"Um, yeah, they did," Quinn replied quietly, confirming it was a horrible thing with her solemn tone. "I wish they hadn't done that, obviously," she added. "But… I am still grateful to God for helping me get through it, if that makes sense," she tried to explain.

"Oh, okay," Abby replied, accepting the answer.

* * *

A few hours later, Puck finally got out of bed, immediately noticing the scent of nail polish in the air. He left his room and walked into the hallway to find his sister's bedroom door open, and usually he'd walk right by, but this time he noticed Abby was not alone. The bright blond hair did not look anything like his sister's dark locks.

"What are you doing?" he asked the two of them, stopping in the doorway.

"Painting our nails," Quinn answered, her tone teasingly mocking him for not being able to figure that out on his own. Puck took a closer look and realized that was pretty obvious. He'd already been smelling the fumes. He should have known. He looked closer and noticed that the girls both were painting their nails a shade of pink. They seemed to be enjoying each other's company.

"You sure that smell isn't bad for the baby?" Puck asked, concerned. Nail polish had such a strong odor.

Quinn smiled, again surprised at how concerned Puck always seemed to be for her baby. Their baby. She wasn't used to anyone else thinking about the little girl's well-being, and every time Puck did, it was unexpected.

"Don't worry," Abby replied. "Quinn looked it up online right before we did it, and as long as she doesn't do it more than once a week, it should be completely fine."

"Yeah," Quinn added. "Working in a nail salon might be a little dangerous, but not this."

"Okay, good," he answered, glad they had thought of this concern too.

* * *

During the afternoon, Quinn called her sister from her cell phone. Gabi, luckily, was home for the weekend and had some time to talk.

"Quinn?" she sounded so surprised to hear from her younger sister. They hadn't spoken since Thanksgiving.

"Yeah, hi," Quinn replied.

"It's… it's so nice to hear from you. How are you?" Gabrielle asked sincerely.

"I'm… okay," Quinn answered, truthfully. "I'm not living with Finn anymore," she informed her.

"What? Why?" Gabi asked, perplexed. "Oh, did Dad let you back home?" she asked, her tone full of hope.

"Oh, no, nothing like that," Quinn replied, sorry to disappoint her. "Actually, um… Finn and I broke up."

Puck was eavesdropping from around the corner, unbeknownst to her. Quinn was in the living room, sitting on the couch that pulled out into a bed every night. Puck hid in the kitchen.

"How could he break up with you?" Gabrielle indignantly responded. "That jerk! The father of your child?!" She clearly could not believe that he'd be so cruel.

"Well, actually…" Quinn started to explain, slowly. She trailed off.

"Oh wait! Did you break up with him? Did he do something to deserve it? Then he's still a total jerk," Gabrielle confidently asserted.

"No, it's not like that," Quinn quietly replied. Gabi waited for her to continue. "Finn… was never the father," she admitted in her softest voice yet.

"What?" Gabrielle replied in a near whisper, astonished.

"I know," she whispered back, so embarrassed to need to admit to her transgressions.

Puck strained to hear what was still going on. He didn't know who Quinn was talking to. But he really wanted to know what Quinn had to say to whomever on this subject matter. He was actually very curious about what was going on in Quinn's mind when it came to Finn. Quinn wasn't talking to Puck about any of it.

"I never even slept with Finn," Quinn quietly continued, "but I managed to convince him he was… but the truth got out anyway." Tears threatened to fall.

"Who _is_ the father?" Gabi asked.

"It's, um… actually his best friend," she replied. "Well, former best friend," she clarified. She took a deep breath, trying to maintain her composure.

Gabrielle didn't respond.

Puck, still listening intently, tried to remain as quiet as humanly possible as he remained in his hiding spot. It stung that she was bringing up how he had betrayed his best friend.

"I am living with him and _his_ family now, actually," Quinn said, after an awkwardly long period of silence.

"That's good," Gabi replied, not sure what else to say. "I mean, I'm glad they…." She didn't finish her sentence. Quinn understood what she meant, just the same.

"Yeah, I'm glad too."

"Talk to you later?" Gabi asked, wondering if they were both ready to end the conversation.

"Talk to you later," Quinn confirmed. She hung up the phone, and then let the tears fall. She quietly sobbed, burying her face in her hands, glad to have gotten that over with. She knew the truth about how she'd broken up with Finn… and why… and where she was living now… would all have had to come out to Gabrielle eventually. In a way, it was a relief to get the truth out there, even if it also hurt. The weight of her secrets and lies was lifted, and more tears fell as she let herself really experience all of the emotions that went along with that.

Puck listened, his heart breaking as he heard her cry. He wanted to go out and comfort her, but he didn't want her to know he'd been eavesdropping, so he felt quite torn. He waited a minute or so, and heard her sobs lessen. He decided to slowly approach her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, as sincerely full of concern as he'd been the night he'd ended up knocking her up.

She looked up and hastily wiped the tears off her face.

He placed himself beside her on the couch.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, shooting him a somewhat forced smile.

He eyed her skeptically.

"I was just talking to my sister," she explained, since he didn't seem to be letting it go. She was embarrassed that he'd caught her crying.

"Was she mean to you?" he cautiously asked.

"No, she's… she's being pretty great, actually," Quinn answered.

"Good," he said. He placed his hand on her leg, comfortingly. She looked down at his hand and smiled to herself, appreciating the gesture.

* * *

The three Puckermans and Quinn gathered around for lighting of another candle on the menorah once sunset arrived. Abby received her second Hanukkah gift. The three kids all were finished their homework that had been assigned over the weekend - even Puck had done his schoolwork, for once! They all had a relaxing meal together that evening, and the weekend concluded pleasantly enough. Quinn entered Puck's bedroom while he was brushing his teeth. She needed to pick out her clothing choices for the next day, and she was now keeping all of her stuff in his room.

She found a dress that would match her new nail polish and the dark pink shoes to match it. She was gathering up a simple white sweater to wear with it when Puck came back.

"Do all girls spend this much effort deciding what to wear to school?" he asked.

"I don't know," Quinn answered. "I used to just wear my Cheerios uniform every day."

"Oh, right," he replied.

"Plus, now that I'm pregnant…" she trailed off, looking down at her expanding bump.

"I get it," he said. He still couldn't relate, since he always just threw on any clean shirt and pants he could find.

Quinn started to leave the room, her entire outfit now gathered into her arms, along with the fresh nightgown she was planning to sleep in that night.

"So, I'll see you in the morning?" he asked, the rhetorical question more a way to politely say 'goodnight' to her than anything else.

"Yeah," she responded. "See you then." She smiled, and he smiled back at her.

* * *

On Monday, the school day was fairly mundane. Students were starting to get restless, impatient for winter break to begin. There was only a little over week left of school. Quinn found herself less worried about all the stares and gossip, and especially found herself less nervous that all of the glee club members would be hating her. There was only one person's gaze she was still trying to avoid – Finn's.

She couldn't avoid him though, when they were going to be two of only twelve people in a room, as would happen as the glee club meeting commenced. It was the last period of the day, and she entered the room nervously. Rachel, Artie, Mercedes, Tina, and Finn himself were already there. Finn was actually holding the trophy they'd won on Saturday. They all seemed happy and excited, even giggling about something.

"What?" Quinn asked as she approached them.

"Mr. Schue was reinstated to be our coach!" Rachel squealed. "Principal Figgins just informed us. He's heading to his office now to tell Mr. Schue the great news too!"

"We were thinking we should sing a song for him," Mercedes added. "To let him know how much we really do appreciate everything he's done for us."

"Oh, cool," Quinn replied.

"Also, because he couldn't be there to see us perform on Saturday," Artie chimed in.

Santana and Brittany then entered the room, closely followed by Matt, Mike, and Kurt. The only person Quinn didn't see was Puck. She wondered where he was.

Eleven of the twelve team members hurriedly settled on a song that would be appropriate enough. One that everyone knew. Finn and Quinn never spoke directly to one another. Things were still a bit too strained and awkward between them. But they managed to successfully ignore the fact that the other was there, at least enough so as to not slow down the planning process. They picked a Kelly Clarkson song that had been on the radio often enough as of late.

"Maybe we should hide the trophy from him," Kurt suggested, "and then pull it out to surprise him!" Everyone agreed it was a fun plan. They'd make good use of Artie and the fact that he was low down because of his wheelchair, and then their tallest member, Finn, could stand in front and hide it.

Puck entered the room just seconds before Mr. Schue, after everyone was in position. He went over near Quinn, and she pulled him down to whisper the whole plan in his ear. Puck loved being so close to her that he could feel her breath.

When they finally did start singing "My Life Would Suck Without You" for their teacher, Quinn let herself have a ton of fun with it. The choreography they improvised on the spot was so upbeat, and she couldn't help but smile as she danced. She easily was able to avoid getting too near Finn. But she found herself dancing near Santana and Artie a lot of the time, and even making a halo with her hands over Rachel's head.

The lyrics of the chorus, Quinn realized, were especially appropriate given how grateful she was that Mr. Schue had opened his home to her. She would forever remember how he had saved her from homelessness that night.

* * *

The glee club decided to do Christmas and Hanukkah related songs that final week and a half before the winter break, and Quinn, for once, realized that Hanukkah really was quite a bit earlier in the winter than Christmas. Everyone treated it as if it happened at the same exact time, but it didn't. However, the eight nights of Hanukkah were still occurring as they worked on this music and Quinn was happy to now have firsthand experience with a Jewish family in order to really appreciate what that all meant.

The club had fun with it, and each day they decorated the room a little more in honor of the holidays as well. Quinn tried to appreciate all of the festive holiday spirit that was blossoming around her at school, because there wasn't even a Christmas tree at the Puckerman's house. She tried not to dwell on how disappointed she felt at the lack of being able to celebrate Christmas with a family who actually recognized the holiday. She wondered what it would have been like had she still been with the Hudsons. She of course really missed everything her own family would always do on the holiday, since, like with Thanksgiving, she had such fond memories of all of their traditions. Selfishly, she wished for gifts. She thought about it, and realized she really wanted to give some gifts too. Maybe to her sister, who had been surprisingly nice to her ever since Thanksgiving. Gabrielle had actually sent her some money in the mail, for which Quinn had been extremely grateful. Gabi had asked for Quinn's current address on Monday and Quinn texted it to her, not sure why she'd wanted it. On Thursday, Miriam handed Quinn an envelope addressed to her, which contained some cash. Quinn thought it'd be nice to use a small portion of the money for a Christmas gift as a 'thank you'.

She also wanted to maybe give a present to Finn's mom, who had been a saint from the moment Quinn's parents had kicked her out, and to whom she'd never said goodbye. She also thought about giving one to Mr. Schue, who had welcomed her into his home not too long ago. Maybe to all three of the Puckermans, who didn't even celebrate Christmas, but to whom she was quite grateful. She hoped she could make her limited funds work. She might not be able to give gifts to everyone she wished to, but she could probably do at least a few of them.

As school was ending on Friday, December 18th, exactly one week before Christmas, she decided that particular afternoon would be the perfect time to head to the Lima shopping mall. She needed more maternity bras anyway, surprised by just how huge her cup size was getting, and she planned to purchase some gifts for these people in her life who deserved them.

She exited the school with her books in her arms, not expecting to see snowflakes in the air. The snow was falling slowly, barely more than flurries, and she smiled. She was distracted by the beauty of the weather and so she didn't even notice Puck until he was immediately beside her.

"Hey, let me take your books," he offered, pulling his backpack off of his shoulder and opening it up. "You don't want the snow getting your books all wet!"

"Thanks," she replied, smiling. The snow really wasn't that dangerous to her books at the moment, but she appreciated the thought.

Puck walked with Quinn to her car. She had been giving him rides to school in the mornings all week.

"I'm actually gonna go shopping," Quinn mentioned. "So I'll just drop you off at your house, today, and then leave to immediately go to the mall."

"What?" Puck replied. "Why do you need to go shopping?"

"Christmas presents," she answered, which was only half of the answer. She didn't want to bring up the bras with him.

"Oh, cool," Puck replied.

She dropped him off, glad he didn't want to accompany her to the mall. He took his backpack inside, which contained her books as well as his. She tried to think of what a good, small, gift he'd appreciate might be.

Driving to the mall, the windshield wipers going the whole time, she appreciated the snow falling all around their small Ohio town.

The Christmas decorations outside the mall were beautiful and she was getting completely into the spirit of the season. She loved how the green wreaths and silver tinsel looked with snow beginning to cover them.

She got out of the car and pulled her jacket tight. She knew what she would be getting everyone. She had decided on the drive over. She smiled, ready to begin her shopping, and took her first steps toward the mall.


	26. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a chapter I'd been looking forward to writing for a little while now. Only one or two small details (from right at the end of it chapter) had been truly planned/the reason I'd been looking forward to writing this. But overall I think it's an okay chapter. I really hope you all enjoy it.

Wednesday, December 23rd was the last day of school before winter break. Kids were already in party mode. Quinn noticed, right before lunch, that Puck was trying to have some fun by blowing straw wrappers at a teacher's head. Glee was the only class of the day where anyone actually was doing their assignments, and it was only because they were singing Christmas carols, which everyone was in the mood for anyway.

As Glee ended that day, and with it also the school day, Quinn ran up to Finn. She wanted to catch him before he left.

"Hey!" she called out, gently touching his arm. He turned around, and saw her bearing a small gift.

"I don't want a present from you," Finn said simply. He was being as tactful as he could.

"No, it's…" she faltered. "It's for your mom," she told him. "It's just a Christmas ornament," she added, "but it's my way of saying thank you for everything she did for me." Finn looked back down at the package. Quinn had picked out an ornament she felt sure Carole would like, having gotten a taste of her favorite colors and sense of style after living in the same house with her for a while. Quinn continued, "Could you please give it to her for me?"

He hesitated for a moment, and then replied. "I guess." He was not thrilled by the idea.

"Thank you," she replied, her tone full of gratitude. She handed him the box wrapped in shiny silver paper, and attached to it was a card, too. She had included in the card a long message of specific thanks for Carole, and apologies… and she hoped the message would be received.

She wanted to thank Finn for everything he'd done, too, but she figured it might hurt him even more and open some wounds that had been barely beginning to heal, so she didn't say anything more. She watched as he left the room, and she couldn't help but still feel a pang of sadness about all of it.

Puck wandered over to Quinn.

"You gave him a gift?" he asked, surprised.

"What? Oh, no…" she answered. She and Puck were now the last two glee kids left in the room. "I gave him something to pass on to his mother."

"Oh," Puck replied. "That was nice of you," he added.

"Thanks. I hope she likes it." She turned to see their teacher also gathering up his sheet music and bag, ready for his own winter break to begin.

"Mr. Schue?" she called out quietly.

He looked over toward her. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas," she said, handing him another box wrapped in shiny silver paper. She smiled at him.

"Aw, wow, Quinn. You didn't have to do this," he replied.

She ignored him and with a smile, started to walk away. "Have a nice winter break!" she called out, briefly turning back as she and Puck left the room.

"What did you give Schuester?" Puck asked, curious.

"A 'World's Best Teacher' Christmas ornament," she answered. The ornaments had been easy gifts to pick out, and cheap, too. There were endless choices of beautiful and fun ornaments to buy, and she wished she could have gotten more of them for people. She'd sent a third ornament gift in the mail to her sister the previous Saturday morning, less than twenty four hours after her trip to the mall where she'd purchased the thing. Christmas was Friday, but hopefully she'd sent it with enough time for it to make it to her sister before the actual holiday.

* * *

When Christmas Eve arrived the next morning, Quinn awoke to a surprise. She was sleeping on the pull-out couch bed in the living room, the front door essentially opening right into her makeshift 'bedroom'. This had never been an issue for her, previously. She never expected someone to ever just walk in and start shouting while she was sleeping, but Nana liked to announce her presence.

"Darlings! I'm here!"

Quinn, now sitting up in the pull-out couch bed, looked over and vaguely remembered seeing this woman before, in the mall trying on a hat. She was now wearing that same exact hat, which helped Quinn in being able to recognize her. She realized this was Puck's grandmother.

"Hi," she said quietly, announcing her own presence to the older woman.

Turning, Nana Puckerman saw the blond girl. She gave her a confused look.

"I'm Quinn." She didn't know what else to say. She was Puck's… what, exactly? Girlfriend? Friend? She didn't want to exactly say, 'I'm the girl Noah knocked up', so she didn't clarify at all.

"Hi," Nana replied. "I'm Evelyn. I'm Noah's daddy's mom."

Quinn smiled at the funny way she introduced herself. She found it a little odd that Puck's father was not in the picture but his paternal grandmother was, but decided it wasn't that odd.

"I usually sleep on that couch," the woman continued.

Quinn looked down at where she was sitting.

"Oh," she replied, feeling awkward, like she had inadvertently intruded into Nana's personal space.

At that point, Abigail started running down the stairs, still in her cute pajamas that had pictures of dolphins all over them.

"Nana!" she called out excitedly, and ran into her grandmother's arms for a hug.

* * *

The family and Quinn spent the day together, enjoying a simple day off school and work that was not 'Christmas Eve' to them but still a relaxing nice change of pace, just the same. Puck, once he had woken up, had explained to Quinn that every Christmas break, Nana made it a point to stay with them for a week because they had nothing else to do anyway and it was just an annual tradition now.

Evelyn Puckerman found out, before long, that Puck had gotten Quinn pregnant, Quinn's parents had kicked her out, and now she was living here, long story short. Nana also found out that her great-grandchild was a girl. Quinn was grateful that the woman didn't take out her scorn on Quinn herself, but rather on Puck. She did feel bad for him, though, as the rest of the evening Nana kept giving him her disappointed eyes.

They made a more ambitious dinner together than usual, one that took everyone working together for about an hour to complete the preparation for and then another hour to cook, and then they all gathered round to watch a movie together that evening, right before bed. Quinn realized she missed seeing some of the Christmas movies she had gotten used to seeing every year as part of her own family's tradition, but she still enjoyed watching Abigail's choice of film, _Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End._ In fact, she was really happy to see it, since she had seen the first two but had never gotten around to seeing this third movie in the series.

When it came time for bed, Quinn slept in Abby's twin-sized bed, Abby slept in the same bed as her mother, and then Nana was able to still sleep on the couch-pull out bed, like she always did. Quinn was more than happy to move for the older woman's sake. As she lay down on the smaller bed, she realized it was more comfortable and wondered why Nana didn't just take this bed. There was no real need for one person to have a bed big enough for two people.

Quinn lay awake that night, thinking about how when she was little, the night before Christmas was always such an exciting time. She'd listen for reindeer hooves on the roof, or the sound of the bells on Santa's sleigh. She would be so excited for presents the next morning and everything else. She now had nothing to think about except that Christmas was essentially canceled for her, this year. But she tried to focus on the "true" meaning of Christmas and marvel in the wonder of how Jesus came into the world, so many years ago. She thought about the nativity scenes she'd seen over the years and fell asleep with a newfound respect for Mary, who had been forced to give birth in a stable. Now that Quinn was pregnant, this idea had a whole new level of intensity to her.

* * *

Christmas Day was quiet and pleasant, similar to the day before. Evelyn had grown tired of shooting her grandson the disappointed stares. Puck and his nana were actually able to have fun together. Miriam went off to read a book she was enjoying while Quinn participated in a game of Scrabble with the two siblings and the grandmother. The day passed by fairly slowly. Quinn tried to forget about the fact that it was Christmas and just let herself be in the moment.

As the day neared its end, Quinn was helping Abby braid her hair when Puck disappeared into his bedroom, then re-emerged with a gift wrapped in birthday paper.

"I didn't have any Christmas paper," he explained, handing the gift to Quinn.

She looked up at him, shocked.

"I thought you deserved a Christmas present," he explained. She opened the package.

Inside, she found a beautiful pair of Christmas tree earrings. They were sparkly and green.

"I knew you were a little disappointed that you wouldn't see a real Christmas tree this year. So I figured it was the least I could do."

Quinn stood up from where she'd been sitting behind Abby.

"Thank you so much," she breathed. She took a step closer to him. "You really are special and romantic, you know that?" She shot him a smile, then leaned in slowly to give him a chaste little kiss.

Puck was clearly pleasantly surprised by the kiss, but then he looked down at his sister, a little embarrassed to be sharing such an intimate moment with Quinn in front of her.

"I'm glad you like them," he replied.

At that moment, Quinn felt something odd in her abdomen. She looked down and realized what was probably happening. It was supposed to be something she'd be able to feel any time now.

"I… I think the baby's moving," she commented. She knew her baby had been moving without her feeling it for a little while now. But 'quickening', that feeling that _she_ was supposed to get when she actually felt the baby move… she hadn't experienced _that_ before!

"What? Really?" Puck asked, excited. "Can I feel it?" He reached out his hand.

"No, I don't think so," she replied. "I'm sorry. It's just… too slight right now for _you_ to feel anything." She'd read stuff online about that, in preparation for this day.

"Oh," Puck replied, a little disappointed. "Well… that's still really cool. Our little girl is kicking! She's really alive in here, huh?"

Quinn felt a few more flutters. "Yeah, she really is." She smiled. She had received not just the earrings, but also a second Christmas present that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was the last of the chapters I'd written before deciding to join this site (AO3). I posted it in November, 2013, so clearly I've abandoned this fic for a while now. BUT I do intend to finish the fic. I swear. It will happen, sooner rather than later. I will write about episodes 1x14 through 1x22 of the show.
> 
> If you could please leave me a review on the chapters I've already finished, that would really help motivate me to write the new chapter and post it sooner. ;) Plus, I'd just really appreciate any/all reviews.
> 
> And if you have time, check out my playlist of all of my Glee vidding so far. I love editing fanvideos, and I've vidded Quinn, her pregnancy, Quinn/Puck, Quinn/Finn, etc in various videos: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3B154EC587267D1B
> 
> Thanks. If you enjoy watching any of my fanvideos, please leave me a comment on them too, or let me know through this site here, or something!


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